My Pibble's Ear Infection

Pibble

Pibble is a very active dog, so it's not often that she sits still long enough to get her picture taken---unless a toy or chewie is involved.  So the other day when she sat down and just shook her head, I knew that something was up.  Then she started to dig at her ears.  All of the classic symptoms of a dog with an ear infection.  Another symptom that didn't show up for a few days was a waxy sort of discharge and scratching at her ear, then stopping and smelling and/or licking the foot she scratched with.  Irritability, loss of balance, and dark discharge are other common symptoms.

Well I'm not terribly fond of prescription meds.  I, personally, tend to have this annoying and often painful habit of developing an allergy to a drug if I'm on it for any length of time.  Which led me to a whole other world of exploration of all of the folk remedies and home cures.  Surprisingly enough, almost all of them that I've tried have worked extremely well.  So why not try a natural approach with Pibble?

First thing I did was make a wash to clean out the ear discharge and the scratches on her ear where Pibble would not stop scratching.  She has fine fur and it was easy for her to scratch herself bloody.  After a bit of research, I settled on one of the common washes that I saw recommended by vets and groomers, a combination of witch hazel and white vinegar.  According to them, you dribble the warm solution into the ear canal and wipe gently.  I tried it, which lead to the second thing......a bath for me and reinforcements to hold her down so I could use a damp washcloth and clean out the discharge.

The second step of the treatment process is to treat the infection.  Just because I use it on myself and I had it on hand, I went with tea tree oil in the ear, although if it didn't work I was ready to do garlic infused coconut oil.  However, much to Boo Boo's disgust (he hates tea tree oil and walks around snorting his displeasure), I did use the tea tree oil and it worked just fine.  I'm not sure that the infection is completely cured, so I'll be doing the wash/treatment routine for at least a week before I stop, but all indications are that Pibble is feeling much much better.

Dog Ear Wash

1 tablespoon of witch hazel--found in most pharmacy sections by the hydrogen peroxide

1 tablespoon of white vinegar---not sure why white was recommended, but since it was and I had it, I went with it.

Combine the two ingredients and warm slightly over a bowl of hot water.  Dribble the concoction into the ear canal and gently massage.  Yeah right.  As soon as the first drop hit her ear, Pibble's head became a whirling dervish.  Afterwards, gently sponge with a cotton ball or soft cloth.  Allow to dry before treating.

Dog Treat Recipe #2

Due to popular demand, I've got another dog treat recipe.  Ummm, the demand might be from the four hounds currently hogging my electric blanket.

Boo Boo doing his best pathetic puggle imitation.

Doggy Treats

2 cups flour--again, it called for whole wheat, but I use regular flour

1 cup cornmeal

1 tbl salt---I often leave this out.  If I don't use salt in my cooking, then my dogs don't need it either

1/3 cup oil

1 egg

1 cup water or broth

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare the cookie sheet by greasing or using parchment paper.  I use a silicon pad normally---no sticking and nothing wasted.  Combine the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients.  You may have to add a bit more flour if the dough is too sticky.  Once the dough is combined, roll about a teaspoon worth of dough into a ball and place on the cookie sheet, about 1/2 inch apart.  Flatten the balls.  You can use a fork to mush them peanut butter cookie style or I sometimes use a glass that has a design on the bottom if I plan on giving them away.  Pop them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until slightly browned.  Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.  

Homemade Dog Treats

image from www.browneyed.baker.com

I'm not the type of dog owner who makes their dogs' food and I don't watch every little thing that goes into their mouths (that would be a full time job anyway), but I do make my own dog treats.  Why?  Well honestly, I did it at first because it was a novelty.  Then the dogs really got into Mama's cookies and when I got lazy and bought store bought dog biscuits, well they didn't snub them but they sure didn't wolf them down the way they did with the homemade ones.  I don't claim to be a math wiz, but most of the ingredients were already lying around or were in the pantry, so other than some time and a bit of effort, it really didn't hurt me to whip up a batch.  I shared my recipe with another friend who is a dog lover and suddenly I started getting requests for my "dog cookies."   I thought I'd just share the tried and true recipe.

Mama's Dog Cookies

2 cups of flour---the original recipe called for whole wheat, but all purpose is what I had on hand and it goes over very well

1/2 cup of oatmeal---instant or whole oatmeal, it doesn't seem to make a difference

1 egg

1 beef bouilion cube, crushed---again, the original recipe called for bouillon granules, but I had cubes

1/2 cup hot liquid--I use water, but I've also used leftover soup or broth

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Dissolve the bouillon in the hot water (or whichever liquid you decide to use).  Grease a cookie sheet.  Add remaining ingredients and mix until a stiff dough forms.  Knead the dough until smooth.  Roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thick and cut with a cookie cutter....or I just usually make squares with a knife.  Place on the cookie sheet about 1/2 inch apart.  They will slightly poof as they cook.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Cool before storing or feeding to your hounds...if they let you.  Mine like to tackle the first batch and bay at the counter until I can pull them off and toss them across the room like a linebacker.  They will store for about a month.  You can keep them in the fridge or even freeze them for a longer shelf-life.

Dog Baiting

When you get a dog, please make sure you are getting one from a reputable breeder or a rescue.  Be wary of pet shop puppies who's parents are often victims of puppy mills.  And if you have puppies, please be wary whom you sell or give them to.  There are so many idiots out there who will willingly take your dog with a story and turn around and use them as bait in dog fighting rings or puppy mills.  The black market slave trade of the canine world is just as horrific and terrible as human slave trafficking.  Help put a stop to it by being a humane owner.

This wastrel was last seen in North Dakota.  Unfortunately, he is just one of many.  Please help put a stop to animal cruelty, dog baiting, and puppy mills.

Pitbulls = Chewers

Pibble loves to chew.  She goes through cheap toys like a knife through butter.  If it squeaks, she loves it.  Unfortunately, once the toy gets into her back jaws, it's dead.  She love, love, loves to play with her rope.  She'll haul it around like a security blanket.  She bonks the other dogs in the head with it when she wants to play.  When Mommy comes home, the rope comes out like an offering.  She's gone through three ropes.  As long as she has something else to chew on, she leaves them alone.  Otherwise, she chews them to threads.  The other day I was cleaning and found rope threads on the ceiling.  I have no idea how she got them up there.

So, what are good toys for pitbulls?  One might think, "oh a chewer, must get rawhide bones" but the fact is, rawhide doesn't digest very well.  That is not to say that an occasional bone isn't unheard of in my house, but what seems to be the most popular thing for Pibble and Bella, my other chewer, is a beef knuckle or a goat hoof.  The hoof, not the ears, lasts for quite awhile.  And while, yeah the spawn does go around grossing out about the dogs chewing on "toe nails," they are digestible.  It's the same keratin in your own nails, only thicker.  Another idea that was suggested by a hunting pal that I haven't tried yet is deer antler.  He said his dogs love them and they last for weeks.

A lunch rope is another good toy for pitbulls.  It works with their need to chew as well as their lunging/leaping tendencies.  A lunge rope is basically a rope on a springy pole with a glove, leather tie or some other toy on the end that the dog has to jump up to reach.  The more they leap and grab, the more the toy swings and bounces around, giving them a good physical workout, as well as eliminating the need for you to be the one swinging the rope around for hours on end.

Lunge Rope, spring pole, firt tag

Kong toys are great.  You can stuff them with a treat or just peanut butter and the dog can chew all day trying to get the goodies out.  Of course, if you have four dogs like I do, you need to get four Kongs with the appropriate size for the dog.  When Pibble got the puggle's Kong (it was softer rubber), she chewed it to bits in less than an hour.  Kong also makes tennis balls, which are great because they can be hurled and help use up some of the boundless energy that Pibble has.  Bonus!  They squeak!

Kong

Finally, in my experience at least, is Orka.  They make heavy duty plastic toys that last.  Santa Paws brought Pibble an Orka stick toy that squeaks and it STILL is intact.  The other dogs absolutely detest the thing.  Probably because Pibble has a tendency to bonk them on the heads with it and then squeak the hell out of the thing, trying to entice them to play with her favorite toy.

Orka

Now for special occasions I get the dogs stuffed animals.  They are supervised with them because within an hour, they will be eyeless and have no guts left.  They also love to get the apples that fall from the apple tree out back.  And ice cubes....in the summer I freeze dog treats in a bucket of water and they will gnaw on that all day or until it melts, whichever happens first.

Keeping your dog from getting bored is the key to keeping your house intact.  A bored dog is a destructive dog.