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My Dog’s Got Diamonds on the Soles of His Paws

“I got diamonds on the soles of my shoes…” Remember that Paul Simon song?

Well, if you have dogs you might have something a little less desirable than diamonds on your shoes – and so might your dogs – according to a new study published in the Journal of Veterinary Parasitology by Panova and Khrustalev (2018).

Image by Hans [CC0 1.0]

Read on to find out what…

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Pets Say NO to Smoking! PART 2

In Part 1 of this article, we took a look at exactly what cigarette smoke is and why it is so dangerous.

In this part, Part 2, we take a look at a random selection of a few of the thousands of studies published on the effects of smoking in humans, and especially children in SECTION B. There is less known about the negative effects of second-hand smoke on pets, but in SECTION C, we summarise the results of most of the studies that have been done in dogs and cats.

Image [CC0 1.0]
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Pets Say NO to Smoking! PART 1

“Tobacco is the only legal drug that kills many of its users when used exactly as intended by manufacturers.”

This is the chilling opening sentence of the World Health Organisation’s global report on trends in tobacco smoking 2000-2025 (WHO, 2015).

Image by nikosapelaths [CC0 1.0]

The trouble is, many of these tobacco users are the dogs and cats living with us. This is wrong and it must stop. This is what this article is about. Please read it and then use it to help us end this now. We can do this if we work together. THANK YOU…

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Vaccination: a New Perspective on an Old Argument

Visit any online forum dedicated to cats and dogs and it won’t be long before some member posts a comment about vaccination. It is a topic that never fails to open up passionate – and often heated – debate between those that ‘do’ and those that ‘do not’. Well, this article is not about the pros and cons of vaccination per se.

Indian Army vet vaccinates family dog against rabies, Wikimedia Commons

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Life Jackets for Pets – how safe are they?

An estimated 5,000 dogs drown in garden swimming pools in the USA every year (Petplace, 2014) and many others in rivers, lakes and the sea. This article highlights the importance for anyone using canine life jackets to understand how these jackets work and what their strengths and weaknesses are in order to choose the right device for their dog’s breed and lifestyle.

How safe are life jackets for dogs

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