Aromatherapy for Dogs

Greetings Fellow Pekies,

Yup, it is Monday again, so as per usual it is time for some more interesting facts from Aunty Aggie.

This week we are bringing you some interesting facts about treating your dog for various conditions with essential oils, also known as aromatherapy oils.

While most individuals have become familiar with essential oils and have used them for various reasons and in various ways, few people realise that essential oils can also be very beneficial to your four-legged pals.

Aromatherapy for dogs has become quite acceptable along with various other alternative treatments, over the past decade or so, and dogs benefit greatly from light usage of essential oils (remember they have very sensitive noses).

Dogs: Did You Know?

Greetings Fellow Pekies,

Yup, it is Monday again, so as per usual it is time for some more interesting facts from Aunty Aggie.

This week we have decided to bring you some light-hearted and sometime fun facts about dogs that you may not know.

Dogs have evolved over the years, going from strange, wild animals to beloved pets and an integral members of the family.

As human populations have grown, so too have pet populations, and it was estimated that there were in excess of 525 million dogs on Earth in 2012.

What is Entropion?

Greetings Fellow Pekies,

Monday, and it is once again time for your weekly episode of  “Aunty Aggie’s Advice & Information Column.”

In a previous post, Everything You Need to Know About Pekingese Health, we briefly covered various conditions to which Pekingese are generally prone, but in the following weeks we will cover conditions in more depth, some of which are believed to be genetic or inherited.

Today’s discussion covers a condition called Entropion,  in which a portion of the eyelid is inverted or folded inward. This can cause an eyelash or hair to irritate and scratch the surface of the eye, leading to corneal ulceration or perforation. It can also cause dark-colored scar tissue to build up over the wound (pigmentary keratitis).

Entropion is fairly common in dogs and is seen in a wide variety of breeds, including Bull Mastiffs, Chow Chow, Shar-pei, Bull terrier, English (British) bulldog, Golden retriever, Great Dane, Irish setter, Irish wolfhound, Mastiff, Old English sheepdog, Pekingese, Pomeranian, Pug, Saint Bernard, Shih tzu, Siberian husky, and many more.

Dealing with a Cleft Lip/Palate

Greetings Fellow Pekies,

Monday, and it is once again time for your weekly episode of  “Aunty Aggie’s Advice & Information Column.”

In a previous post, Everything You Need to Know About Pekingese Health, we briefly covered various conditions to which Pekingese are generally prone, but in the following weeks we will cover conditions in more depth, some of which are believed to be genetic or inherited.

Today’s discussion covers Cleft Lips/Palates, an inherited condition in which there is an opening between the mouth (oral cavity) and the nose (nasal cavity) that occurs when the tissues separating these two cavities do not grow together properly. This birth defect can occur in the lip (“primary cleft palate”, “cleft lip”, or “harelip”) or along the roof of the mouth (“secondary cleft palate”). Within the mouth, the cleft can extend along the bony portion (hard palate), the flexible portion that is used in swallowing (soft palate), or both.

These conditions are more common in certain breeds including: Beagles, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Boston Terriers, Bull Terriers, Chihuahuas, Cocker Spaniels, Dachshunds, English Bulldogs, German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, Pekingese, Miniature Schnauzers and Shetland Sheepdogs and Shih Tzus. Dogs with Brachycephalic builds (short muzzled breeds) can have a 30% risk for these defects.

50 Fun Facts about Dogs

Greetings Fellow Pekies,

South Africans are starting off the week in a great mood thanks to our wonderful Olympic Athletes who have done us SO proud.

We would firstly like to say – Well Done and Thank You, ‪#‎TeamSARise‬ !!  Our athletes are bringing home TEN medals from Rio 2016, which equals the all-time high achieved only twice before; in 1920 & 1952.

We are all extremely proud of each and every one of you and are #ProudlySouthAfrican.

In the spirit of the whole country being in such a great mood (which we need after the political stress of the past few months), we thought it fit to keep things light today and are therefore going to share some wonderful, weird and just plain FUN facts about dogs with you.