New and Improved
As I squirted out some liquid soap from my bottle of Dawn into my dish pan this morning, I noticed a slightly different label. It said "New and improved." Uh OH- a bit of caution crept over me. I have always liked Dawn. As advertised, it does a good job dealing with greasy dishes. Hannah has greasy skin
which leads to a tendency towards fungal spots. My Vet told me to bathe her using diluted Dawn rather than any doggy shampoo. Hannah had chew spots on her legs and near her stubby tail when she came to me. She arrived wearing a "hood" and I was told it was lick granuloma. It did not heal even when she could not reach to chew on it. Now, without a
hood, and with frequent (every two weeks) baths using the Dawn soap which I cut 3 to 1 - water to Dawn - and place in a squirt bottle, she has no doggy odor, no fungal spots. She rests quietly. At first she had such a terrific case of damaged skin
my Vet also gave me a spray bottle of Fungicide meant for horses. I sprayed that on the worst areas after the baths once she was dry. That was only necessary a few times as the sores healed almost overnight. This was an entirely new approach, as I had seen so many cases of hot spots (not caused by flea allergy) and in days of yore when I was practicing, we had a very different approach to dealing with them, even to using steroid injections. No steroids have been used in or on Hannah to obtain the soft coat and clean skin she now has.
No need for prescription meds or dangerous steroids. Just a
bottle of Dawn dish soap and a spray bottle of Fungicide for horses! (I really like my Vet.)
Please note though- if your dog's skin problem is caused by a flea infestation, that is a whole different case.
But this morning I saw that "New and improved" statement on the bottle. I hope that great product has not been ruined.
So many times I have found that note on a product and they
are right about the "new"; however, I have found (I felt) they made a mistake with the "improving".
Pet foods are always being "improved". Because the pet food industry has grown to enormous proportions of late due not only to the increased pet population, but to the dollars spent by owners on their pets for designer foods and treats. Cat food
now has little shapes and colors just like cereal for the children. Do you really believe your cat cares about the pink fish or the red heart shape? Cats do prefer certain shapes-triangles or circles more than stars. I have found they leave more crumbs in their dish with the more angular shapes. Dog food, too, has joined the fancy food dish club-orange vegetable shapes, oval brown rice etc. Does the dog appreciate this? Well obviously the owner sees it as more palatable, since those are big selling tickets.
In the veterinary hospital where I spent most of my practicing years we sold Iams dog and cat food. That was before you could buy it at Walmart! I attended their seminars-learned a good deal about animal nutrition. I still believe what I learned
then, -much research goes in to designing a good nutritious food based on the animal's individual requirements. Fancy packaging, cute slogans, enticing (to the human) shapes and colors mean absolutely nothing to the dog or cat. So why pay extra for them?
Please do buy Made in USA. Not only for the state of our economy, for safety of ingredients too. Be careful-sometimes it may be packaged in the US, though the ingredients, especially meats, may have been purchased in Mexico and/or China.
There are many reliable pet food companies. I am not recommending one over the other. Do a bit of research to find the recipe that best fits your pet's age, size and activity level.
Then let that pet choose from them to determine which taste he prefers.
I am very suspicious of "new and improved". I will cautiously try them and decide for myself-be it food or whatever, for my cat and dog or for me.
But then I am an old lady and likely rather set in my ways. I
could probably use some new and improving myself.
which leads to a tendency towards fungal spots. My Vet told me to bathe her using diluted Dawn rather than any doggy shampoo. Hannah had chew spots on her legs and near her stubby tail when she came to me. She arrived wearing a "hood" and I was told it was lick granuloma. It did not heal even when she could not reach to chew on it. Now, without a
hood, and with frequent (every two weeks) baths using the Dawn soap which I cut 3 to 1 - water to Dawn - and place in a squirt bottle, she has no doggy odor, no fungal spots. She rests quietly. At first she had such a terrific case of damaged skin
my Vet also gave me a spray bottle of Fungicide meant for horses. I sprayed that on the worst areas after the baths once she was dry. That was only necessary a few times as the sores healed almost overnight. This was an entirely new approach, as I had seen so many cases of hot spots (not caused by flea allergy) and in days of yore when I was practicing, we had a very different approach to dealing with them, even to using steroid injections. No steroids have been used in or on Hannah to obtain the soft coat and clean skin she now has.
No need for prescription meds or dangerous steroids. Just a
bottle of Dawn dish soap and a spray bottle of Fungicide for horses! (I really like my Vet.)
Please note though- if your dog's skin problem is caused by a flea infestation, that is a whole different case.
But this morning I saw that "New and improved" statement on the bottle. I hope that great product has not been ruined.
So many times I have found that note on a product and they
are right about the "new"; however, I have found (I felt) they made a mistake with the "improving".
Pet foods are always being "improved". Because the pet food industry has grown to enormous proportions of late due not only to the increased pet population, but to the dollars spent by owners on their pets for designer foods and treats. Cat food
now has little shapes and colors just like cereal for the children. Do you really believe your cat cares about the pink fish or the red heart shape? Cats do prefer certain shapes-triangles or circles more than stars. I have found they leave more crumbs in their dish with the more angular shapes. Dog food, too, has joined the fancy food dish club-orange vegetable shapes, oval brown rice etc. Does the dog appreciate this? Well obviously the owner sees it as more palatable, since those are big selling tickets.
In the veterinary hospital where I spent most of my practicing years we sold Iams dog and cat food. That was before you could buy it at Walmart! I attended their seminars-learned a good deal about animal nutrition. I still believe what I learned
then, -much research goes in to designing a good nutritious food based on the animal's individual requirements. Fancy packaging, cute slogans, enticing (to the human) shapes and colors mean absolutely nothing to the dog or cat. So why pay extra for them?
Please do buy Made in USA. Not only for the state of our economy, for safety of ingredients too. Be careful-sometimes it may be packaged in the US, though the ingredients, especially meats, may have been purchased in Mexico and/or China.
There are many reliable pet food companies. I am not recommending one over the other. Do a bit of research to find the recipe that best fits your pet's age, size and activity level.
Then let that pet choose from them to determine which taste he prefers.
I am very suspicious of "new and improved". I will cautiously try them and decide for myself-be it food or whatever, for my cat and dog or for me.
But then I am an old lady and likely rather set in my ways. I
could probably use some new and improving myself.
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