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Some old wives’ tales hang on with the tenacity of a terrier. One of them is that dogs that are bathed too often will suffer from dry skin. Many a person has said to me, “The book for my dog’s breed says to never wash them more than every 6 to 12 months, or it will dry out his coat.” I suspect this myth came from the time when pet shampoos were harsh products that had to work hard to wash out months’ worth of dust, dirt, grime, and sebum.The fact of the matter is that a clean, conditioned, brush …

If you shampoo your dog correctly, you will get it clean, but the job is not completed unless you also use a conditioner. Shampoo uses surfactants to remove unwanted dirt, dust, dander, and oil from your pet's coat. This is great, but in removing all the stuff we don't want, some of the beneficial natural oils are also washed down the drain.By choosing to complete a great bath by pairing shampoo with conditioner, you can accomplish several things: You replace the sebum (natural skin oil) that y …

Some of my fondest childhood memories include dogs. Growing up, I was surrounded by animals and I loved every second of it. I knew that I wanted to get a dog, but was waiting for the right time in my life to adopt. Everything sort of fell into place at exactly the right time. Once my husband and I bought a house I knew that we would soon be ready for a new addition to the family. We wanted to wait until we were settled in before hand. Turns out, we wouldn’t need to wait long. A friend of …

This article was originally published in 2015. In the fourth installment of this 4-part series (find the first three installments here: part 1, part 2, part 3), Dr. Becker continues her discussion with Dr. Ronald Schultz, a pioneer and expert in the field of veterinary vaccines. In this final segment, the doctors discuss the future of rabies vaccines and the vaccination protocol Dr. Schultz uses with his own pets. Dr. Becker's Comments: …

"Malta en Parvo” means “a lot in a little” and I cannot think of a better description of the Pug. The Pug is considered a member of the toy group and is, in fact, the largest of the toy breeds. But there is nothing small about this dog’s demeanor or its popularity. It has been said that Pugs are so ugly they are cute, and it has even been said that Pugs are like potato chips, you can’t have just one. I have been a big dog person all my life and it was our son who wa …