O is for …

ORPHANS:
It is very hard to perform all the functions that a bitch does for her puppies or a queen does for her kittens. She keeps them warm with her body, she cleans and stimulates them with her tongue and she feeds them with her milk, which if she has been vaccinated will give  the puppies  or kittens antibodies against diseases until they are fit enough to have vaccinations themselves.

For warmth you can give a hot water bottle (heated regularly), a microwave heat pad, or an electric pad (with a circuit breaker for safety) or a plastic bed with a heater inside it on which you can put a towel or vet bed. Young animals lose body heat very easily so they must be kept warm.

I would not want to bathe a puppy or kitten in case it got chilled, however if the it fell into a toxic substance like oil or had an onset of diarrhea which stuck to its fur I would of course wash it and dry it thoroughly afterwards. It is difficult feeding orphaned animals as nothing is as good as mother’s milk but when they are very tiny you can use small droppers or syringes to feed them. I advocate goats’ milk  and goats’yogurt with acidophilus as the most acceptable food for the very young. When they are first born they require feeding approximately every two hours, day and night, so it is very tiring work indeed.
Alexandra is the founder of the ABC Animal Sanctuary on www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk We are all volunteers and are most grateful for any adoptions of animals or any donations. £2 .50 would pay for a bale of hay for instance. We have a Paypal button and a PO Box number on the website.

 Alexandra has also written “Beware Dobermans, Donkeys and Ducks” (now being serialised on the website in the abc friends section along with the current sanctuary diary blog and Pip’s Diary) and the veterinary recommended “The Healthy Dog” and “The Healthy Cat” books. A few remaining copies are available from our web site shop.
Copyright Alexandra Bastedo.

N is for …

                                       NEUTERING– roaming dogs can be the scourge of any neighbourhood, so if you want to be popular with your neighbours I recommend that you have your male puppy or Tom cat  neutered. Also un-neutered dogs  and cats tend to be more aggressive and may be more likely to fight.

The neutering operation is very simple but for any surgery I always ask for the best anaesthetic in case of an allergic reaction. To boost the immune system you can administer A, E, C and B complex vitamins and zinc before and after surgery. Vitamin E can be beneficial if scar tissue is itching.

Homoeopathically: After any operation you can give arnica, hypericum, phosphorus, or Bach’s Rescue Remedy. On any post operation tissue you can use calendula.

Herbally: Echinacea liquid can be used,

                                        NUTRITION– the best dietary requirements are what foods to give, how much and how often. The best food to give is raw food (but it must be from a reliable unconditional source) or home cooked food. However, cooking depletes vitamins and minerals so canine supplements along with bonemeal may be added when the food has cooled down. Ideal proteins for dogs and cats can be found in chicken, turkey, guinea fowl, pheasant, liver (in small amounts not more than twice a week), lamb beef, cod, halibut, skate, haddock, plaice, bream, mackerel, pilchards, salmon and herring. Cats cannot be vegetarian without the addition of taurine to their food but protein for vegetarian dogs is abundant in pulses, seeds and nuts (not peanuts), free range eggs, goats’ milk and goats’ yoghurt. However, dogs  and cats can have allergies to dairy products so a calcium supplement can be beneficial. Good vegetables to give are broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, peas, beans, pumpkin and beetroot. A pinch of thyme, sage, rosemary or garlic can be a healthy flavoursome addition. For carbohydrates one can add millet, oats, rice, spelt and polenta (corn meal). Organic or free range products are preferable, particularly for dogs  or cats with serious health problems. If you are feeding commercial foods you may find it a false economy to buy cheap cans with a lot of moisture. The ones  for dogs like Hills, Butcher’s, Eukanuba, Techni-cal, Naturediet, Menu and the original Denes are more expensive but I find my dogs eat less because they are packed full of goodness. Cats are more fussy but for the moment we feed our cats on Denes tins and Bozita packets. As they contain very little water we can feed one tin or packet to 4 cats so it is economical they also get Denes -for skin- biscuit or Hills ID biscuit mixed in with their meals. The smallprint on some cans itemises additives, colourants, preservatives and sugars, (caramels) so make a point of steering clear of those. The same criteria applies to dried foods as the ones without colourants, sugars, additives or preservatives are more nutritious such as , Walthams,  Burns,  Denes, Nutro, Techni-cal and Hills. Through your vet you can also obtain tins for specific diseases.

Always make sure there is plenty of freshly boiled uncontaminated or bottled water near at hand to prevent dehydration.

How much and how often should I feed my dog? It is not a question that is easily answered as it changes with differing circumstances. I remember my Yorkshire Terriers would only eat diced chicken in London but the moment we took them on a walking holiday in the Lake District, they reverted to their true terrier selves. They were so ravenous they even begged for the crusts from our sandwiches. Back in my London flat with their daily walks in Hyde Park they returned to their usual pernickety selves. The experts’ views on how much protein a dog should have in its daily ration vary considerably. From 18% to 40%. Mark Elliott advocates 40% as a general rule. However, we believe that if a dog has too much protein without enough channelled physical activity, it can lead to destructive, hyperactive and even vicious behaviour. Protein should not exceed 60% of a dogs’ diet at any one time and fats no more than 5%. A proper diet should include the essential elements – protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals in the correct proportion. It is also important to strike the right balance between liquids and solids.

The amount of food needed to feed a dog varies according to its breed, age, lifestyle (active or sedentary, indoor or outdoor), state of health, and whether it is pregnant or not. Climate too is a factor as dogs need more food in the cold weather. Metabolisms differ even between dogs of the same size, so it would be impossible to calculate precisely how much food you give to your dog. A rough guideline would be to say one ounce (30g) of food per day for every pounds of a dog’s weight.

A 20lb adult dog would need approximately 680 calories daily. So adjust recipes accordingly when cooking for your dog. As a dogs digestive system works on the basis of 6 plus hours, whereas a human’s works on 20 plus hours, a dog doesn’t need as many meals as we do. An average-sized dog should be serves one meal a day, preferably in the morning, of 75% of its meal in the morning and 25% in the evening. Smaller breeds seem to prefer two meals a day. Most of us are brought p to feed our dogs their main meal in the late afternoon/early evening, which means they need to relieve themselves about midnight. This is rarely feasible because most people don’t walk their dogs at that hour and since they have been trained not to relieve themselves in the house a large number of pets end up at the vets with anal problems. Avoid feeding a meal directly before or after exercise – a dog can’t digest its food properly when it is tired and overheated. Never feed your dog hot food and never straight from the refrigerator; room temperature is best. If you are cooking for your dog, it is advisable to store the food in the fridge because the food will not contain preservatives. Buying and cooking in bulk and freezing the food can prove economical both in terms of time and money. However on no account should you freeze any cooked fish and never refreeze any food. In case your dog is sensitive to aluminium, use cast iron, stainless steel or ceramic pots and pans. For optimum nutrition, with home cooking I always add calcium (this can be bonemeal or crushed egg shell, rotating the vitamins, minerals, essential oils and antioxidants and varying the menus. That way I can be sure my dogs are getting everything they need to be healthy canines.

As for cats we always feed mouse size portions. If you look at what they would be eating in the wild it would be either small rodents or birds. The amount of biscuit would be limited to the grain in the stomach of their prey so at the sanctuary we feed high protein foods with just a few biscuits for their teeth and never overfeed.

Alexandra is the founder of the ABC Animal Sanctuary on www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk We are all volunteers and are most grateful for any adoptions of animals or any donations . £2.50 would pay for a bale of hay for instance. We have a Paypal button and a PO Box number on the website. Alexandra has also written “Beware Dobermanns, Donkeys and Ducks” and the veterinary recommended “The Healthy Dog” and “The Healthy Cat” books. a few remaining  signed copies are available from our web site shop.
Copyright Alexandra Bastedo.

M is for …

MINERALS – People often talk about vitamins but not everybody realises that minerals have just as important role to play in maintaining a healthy immune system. Many years ago there were lots of trace minerals (over 70) in our soil which were absorbed by the plants which then went into the food chain. However, since the use of chemicals on the land with overworking of the soil over a long period of time, most of  the minerals essential to our health are now virtually non-existent. Our food supply is seriously deficient in minerals. Every aspect of the body requires minerals and without them not only us but our animals too will have serious health problems. It was because I couldn’t find a multi mineral product for dogs or cats that my vet Mark Elliott  on www.petnutrition.co.uk  formulated the Canine Care and Feline Care mineral supplements. At least now my own animals are no longer minerally deficient.

MOPING – Dogs and cats can very definitely mope. They can mope at a change of abode, a change of owner, the introduction of a new person or animal from their immediate family.

Homoeopathically: Tim Couzens recommends arsenicum album for despair.

Bach Flower Remedies: Tim Couzens recommends gorse (ulex europaeus) for animals that seem to have given up the will to live often with severe health problems.

Aromatherapy: Nelly Grosjean, a doctor of aromatherapy and essential oils suggests basil and sweet marjoram for depression. Aromatherapy oils should never be put on an animal’s skin or fur, but should be inhaled at a distance of at least one foot.

Alexandra is the founder of the ABC Animal Sanctuary on www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk
We are all volunteers and are most grateful for any adoptions of animals or any donations. £2 would pay for a bale of hay for instance. We have a Paypal button and a PO Box number on the website.
Alexandra has also written “Beware Dobermans, Donkeys and Ducks” and the veterinary recommended “The Healthy Dog” and “The Healthy Cat” books. a few remaining copies are available from our web site shop.
Copyright Alexandra Bastedo.