Alternative Medicine Techniques

Treatments other than conventional western medicine are usually considered "alternative therapies." They usually are not backed by scientific data but by years of use. Some alternative therapies date back thousands of years. As more people use alternative therapies for themselves, they are also seeking them for their pets. The alternative therapy treatments include, but are not limited to, massage, acupuncture, herbology, homeopathy, and chiropractic. The American Veterinary Medical Association has established guidelines for veterinary acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathic, and holistic medicine.

If you seek an alternative treatment, discuss it with your veterinarian first to make sure no harm will result from the trial. Discontinue use if results are negative. Get referrals from your veterinarian, family, or friends who have used the type of treatment you are seeking for your pet. States vary in their requirements regarding who can treat animals. A person may need to be a licensed veterinarian in that state to legally treat the animal. Check with your state government or state veterinary medical association to determine what is legal in your state.
Traditional Chinese medicine has used acupuncture to treat a wide variety of conditions for about 3,500 years. Acupuncture is said to stimulate the body's natural healing processes which in turn help the body heal itself. Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners believe that acupuncture stimulates the flow of energy forces that nourish tissues, stimulate blood flow, and enhance the body's systems. Acupuncture has been used both as a preventative measure and to help treat diseases.
According to ancient Chinese medical theory, the life force (called qi or ch'i) flows through the body via 14 invisible channels known as meridians. They regulate all physical and mental processes. Opposing forces within the body, called yin and yang, must be balanced to keep ch'i flowing properly. The meridians run deep within the body's tissues and organs, surfacing at some 360 places identified as acupuncture points, sometimes called acupoints. Certain meridians are identified with organs such as the bladder or liver, and the points all along such meridians are believed capable of affecting the associated internal organ. Stimulating these points is said to balance and restore the flow of ch'i.
The word acupuncture is derived from the Latin 'acus' needle and 'pungo' puncture. The puncture refers to the insertion of tiny needles at very specific points on the surface of the body. The needles used are smooth and solid and very thin. Some people say they feel a brief slight sensation upon the insertion of the needle into the precise acupuncture point. The depth of insertion, type of stimulation, and duration of treatment vary according to the disease or the condition being treated. Needles should be sterile and only used once.
In modern veterinary acupuncture, multiple systems of treatment are used. These include the classical needle alone, needles used in conjunction with electrical stimulation, or stimulation using a specific type of laser. Gold beads, surgical staples, or magnets are sometimes put into acupuncture points to provide permanent stimulation.
Many western theories exist to try to explain the reported effects of acupuncture, however no one theory explains all the effects. One thing specifically is known: acupuncture does cause the release of endorphins, compounds that have physiological effects resembling morphine.
In humans, acupuncture is most commonly used for the treatment of pain, paresis, and paralysis. Acupuncture helps provide short-term relief of pain. In some human studies, long-term relief has occurred as well. Patients may show a better response after each treatment or a good response which lasts for a short period of time and increasingly longer on each subsequent treatment. Acupuncture should not be expected to cure an underlying problem. Human research is underway to determine for which physical problems acupuncture works well.
Research studies on the effects of acupuncture on animals have not yet been performed, but anecdotal information suggests it may be helpful in certain conditions. Acupuncture has been used in the treatment of pain, hip dysplasia, chronic digestive disturbances, lick granuloma, epilepsy, and other miscellaneous conditions in pets. Some pet owners have noted an improvement in attitude in their pets before any physical improvement is seen. This may be due to a reduction in pain or some unknown factor.

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Can Dogs See in the Dark?

While cats may reign as the pet world's champions of night vision, dog lovers can rejoice: Their beloved canines can also navigate in dim light, if not quite as skillfully as their feline companions. How can dogs get by when the lights go out, and on a 20/20 scale, can canines go eye-to-eye with humans?
Dogs' ability to see in darkness stems from the structure of their eyes. They have large pupils, which let in more light. Their retinas have a lot of light-and-motion-sensitive cells, called rods. These distinguish light from shadow. And most importantly, dogs' eyes, like those of cats, some birds and fish, and nocturnal predator animals, have a mirror-like membrane called a tapetum lucidum at the rear of the eye. The tapetum allows light that is not absorbed by the rods to rebound to the retina, letting it take in more light, which enables the dog to see better.
But do dogs see better than humans? The simple answer is that they see differently, and in some instances, better. Dogs see shades of gray, while a human's world is in living color. The human retina has more cone cells, which distinguish color, while dogs' retinas have more rods, which need much less illumination to detect the gray spectrum. In twilight or indoor semi-darkness, a dog can see more clearly than his human. The rods are also sensitive to motion, allowing dogs to detect smaller movements and to quickly sense a stranger, or their prey. This is helpful when hunting at night or on guard duty.

A professor of comparative ophthalmology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison estimates that a dog can see in light that is five times dimmer than what the human eye needs (cats need about one sixth of the light humans need to see in darkness.).

Because a dog's eyes are set in the front of his face, not on the sides of his head like a horse, he has good binocular vision, which lets him use both eyes simultaneously to see an object. But depending on the distance of that object, a dog may see a blurry outline rather than a bicycle or a barn, because a dog's ability to focus on detail is not as sharp as a human's. Canine vision is roughly estimated to be 20/75, which means that at 20 feet away, the dog will see something as clearly as a human would 75 feet away. Dogs devoted to "Lassie" reruns on TV most likely view the collie's filmed adventures as frame after frame of movement rather than as a series of scenes, because dogs see flickering light better than humans do.

A dog's eye view is also at a considerably lower vista than a human's. Whether seen from a Chihuahua's pint-size height or a Great Dane's perspective, the world looks different, and much closer to the ground, for canines.

Like cats, dogs have those eerie glow-in-the-dark eyes that seem to float like independent flashlight beams, bringing smiles to even reluctant nighttime dog-walkers. The phenomenon is known as eyeshine. It happens when unabsorbed light reflects off the eye's tapetum lucidum, that layer of mirror-like membrane, just the way light bounces back from a mirror. Next time you're walking Fido on a frosty evening, instead of grumbling, "Just go, already!" take a moment to marvel at the greeny-gold orbs shining back at you from the end of the leash.

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Can Dogs See Color?

When you walk down the street with your dog, the almost endless array of hues you see -- from the brilliant blue sky and lush green grass to an ordinary red stop sign -- appears much differently to your pet.

Dogs have just one-tenth the concentration of color-capturing cones in the back of their eyes that humans have. So while we enjoy a smorgasbord of tinges and tones, dogs only see two colors: blue-violet and yellow, as well as any blends of these colors. The rest of their world appears in shades of gray like a dreary winter's day.

"Restrictions in color vision are probably of limited consequence in dogs, as it is likely that dogs react only to colors of biological importance to them," veterinarians Christopher Murphy and Paul Miller wrote in their 1995 study about canine vision, published in the journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Basically, since dogs don't forage for brightly-colored fruits like apples and oranges, there isn't a lot of value in seeing those colors, explains Miller, compared to being able to break the camouflage of prey or seeing potential threats.

Knowledge that a dog's world appears in more than just black or white came in 1989, when researchers at the University of California in Santa Barbara examined the color vision of three dogs -- two Italian greyhounds and a toy poodle -- in a series of behavioral discrimination experiments. Their findings indicated that there are color-sensitive cones in the dog's retina, located in the back of the eyeball. Later, these findings were confirmed through an electroretinography, a test similar to an electrocardiogram except that it measures the eye's response to light.

Dogs, like most mammals, are dichromats -- possesing two types of cones in their retina for color perception and ability to see details. Humans, on the other-hand, are trichromatic. Their eyes contain three types of light-sensitive cones -- blue-, green- and red-sensitive -- which allows enjoyment of all colors in the visible spectrum.

Interestingly, dogs see colors the way people with red-green color blindness see colors, explains Gregory Acland, a professor of medical genetics at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, N.Y. This rare disorder usually occurs in males and accounts for about 4 percent of the population.

"Such people will tell you that they do in fact see colors but they can have difficulties distinguishing some shades that other people tell apart easily," he explains. "Typically the colors they have trouble distinguishing are pastels or muddy shades in the red-orange-green range."

"Evolutionarily, this is because all mammals descend from crepuscular shrewlike creatures with eyes not adapted for daylight vision or color contrast," explains Acland. "The retinas of birds, reptiles and fishes have much more elaborate receptors for detecting color contrasts."

Through gene therapy, it's feasible to give a dog trichromatic vision, just like ours, but nobody has done that yet, Acland said.

Of course, a dog's strong suit is his sense of smell. This is a good thing, according to researchers Miller and Murphy, since compared to people -- who rely heavily on sight -- the canine's visual system is inferior in a number of ways, including depth perception, range of color and visual acuity. However, dogs trump humans in other aspects, such as motion sensitivity, the ability to see in low lighting and differentiating between shades of gray.

This has made the dog a more efficient predator in certain environmental situations (for example, in the dark) and permits him or her to "exploit an ecological niche inaccessible to humans," researchers Miller and Murphy conclude.

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Children With Pet Allergies

The combination of kids and pets can be a truly delightful experience, as well as an educational one in terms of teaching children responsibility and other core values such as nurturing and empathy. But for those with little ones who are allergy-prone, it may be a recipe for disaster.

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), at least 15 percent of Americans who have allergies are allergic to pets, and adults who fall into this group are also more likely to have children with similar conditions. AAFA figures show that as many as 7 out of 10 children will develop pet allergies if both parents are affected. However, it's also entirely possible for children to develop allergies when both parents are allergy-free.

It's unclear whether there's any surefire way to prevent your kids from getting pet allergies. Some studies, including one conducted in 2002 by the Journal of the American Medical Association, indicate that exposing children to pets during their first year of life might in fact help prevent the development of allergies down the road, but experts in the field have yet to agree on whether these studies are valid in all cases.

Signs of a potential pet allergy in children are similar to those seen in adults, which can include runny nose, sneezing, red or watery eyes, itching, and in more severe cases, rashes, hives, and even the development of full-blown asthma. There are, however, other allergens — such as mold — that can create similar symptoms. So how can you tell if pets are the cause? First things first: Consider whether your children have ever been exposed to animals, and if so, have they exhibited any subsequent reactions? Symptoms of a pet allergy usually show up within 30 minutes or so after contact, but sometimes can take as long as 8 to 12 hours to surface. To be safe, give it a full day after the initial interaction takes place before jumping to any conclusions.

For a more concrete verdict, a doctor or allergist can help determine the source of the irritant by conducting a detailed review of your child's medical history and a complete physical examination. A skin or blood test is also good for measuring a child's level of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies as it relates to specific allergens. Generally, skin tests are preferable, because they deliver faster and more specific results than blood tests.

If a pet allergen does indeed prove to be the culprit behind your child's symptoms, the best (and sometimes hardest) decision would be to prevent contact with anything that acts as a trigger for the allergies. This includes keeping certain pets out of your own household and also limiting interactions with other people's animals as much as possible — both of which can be heartbreaking situations for youngsters. When explaining the circumstances, try reminding your kids how important it is for them to remain healthy. Don't hesitate to ask your pediatrician for advice on how to best approach this discussion as well.

If your children are allergy-prone, but their symptoms are relatively mild, you may decide to move forward with getting a pet anyway. If this is the case, keep in mind that the source of the allergen is in the animal's saliva or skin secretions — not within hair or fur as a lot of people believe. While many dog and cat breeds are marketed as hypoallergenic, there is really no such thing as a 100 percent allergy-friendly pet, so choosing one labeled as such will not necessarily do you or your family any favors.

That said, there are more allergy-friendly alternatives. Though cats and dogs are popular pet options, consider other types of animals that don't shed dander, such as fish, reptiles and turtles. If you do opt for a kitty or puppy, look into breeds that shed less frequently (like Bichon Frises) or have shorter fur (like the Devon Rex cat). That should help cut down on the amount of dander in the household.

Other helpful measures include making your children's bedrooms pet-free zones and keeping your pet outdoors whenever possible. Vacuum and dust frequently, and speak to your doctor about other treatment options as well, such as antihistamines (in the form of pills or nose sprays) or even shots. Taking medication might seem extreme, but it's important to explore all options to avoid unpleasant situations down the road for your kids, yourself and your pet.

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Weird Pet Eating Habits

Our pets have some strange ideas about what counts as food.
While it's understandable that kibble and canned food every day might motivate a search for a few supplementary delicacies from time to time, their choices never seem well thought out.
5: Dirt

It's normal to see a dog snuffling and digging in the dirt, but what about when your pooch starts eating it? Last time we checked, dirt wasn't digestible. It does contain a few minerals dogs can use, such as potassium, magnesium, zinc and iron. Sick dogs are often seen eating dirt, and they may be chowing down to correct a nutritional imbalance.

But while a few chomps of soil are probably harmless, making a meal of mud pie on a steady basis can be a dangerous thing. All dirt has the potential to contain traces of fecal matter from other animals, and eating it regularly is a dependable way for your pet to pick up some nasty parasites.

4: Feces

Along with butt-sniffing and toilet bowl-drinking, eating feces, a behavior known as coprophagy, is actually pretty common among dogs. Though it's no fun to watch, it's not necessarily a sign that something's wrong. Many pets will eat poop out of boredom, curiosity or just for fun. If it's their own poop, it's most likely harmless. There may also be an instinctual aspect -- mother animals in the wild often eat their young's feces to avoid attracting predators.

Some animals, like rabbits, need to eat their poop. While rabbits generally donate eat actual feces, they do eat cecotropes, a type of excretory pellet. Digestive tracts in lagomorphs (the biological order that includes rabbits and pikas) produce these cecotropes from a special pouch that nurtures beneficial bacteria and stores nutrients. Just think of it as probiotic rabbit yogurt.

3: Grass

Cats know a lot of weird ways to have fun. Running into the yard to eat grass and then throw it up just happens to be one of them. Fortunately, it isn't as big a deal for them as it is for us (probably because they never have to clean it up). There's also substantial evidence that this habit is good for them. Because cats and other carnivores end up eating a lot of indigestible fur, bones and feathers, using fibrous plants like grass to induce vomiting is an effective way to clean out the stomach and keep the intestines safe from blockage and laceration.

Cats who don't have access to grass will often go after potentially poisonous plants as a substitute. Some common ones include aloe vera, poinsettia and even the rubber plants that people with black thumbs keep around the house. Always make sure houseplants are cat-safe.

2: Pica

Pica, which can be defined as eating non-food objects, is one of the most immediately dangerous weird eating habits in animals. While animals can engage in pica for a variety of reasons, such as anxiety, neurosis or malnutrition, it can also be part of play behavior; for dogs and cats, eating playthings often just feels natural. Puppies especially will eat anything that smells interesting -- garbage, underwear and dirty socks. Likewise, kittens will eat rubber bands or tinsel the same way they might eat a mouse or a bug.

Still, even in play, pica can be deadly, resulting in poisonings, bowel obstructions and other intestinal damage. Owners should make sure their pets have plenty of safe toys to play with, but if pica continues, consult a veterinarian.

1: Food Strikes

Some pets are just picky eaters, but anorexia -- yes, the term applies to pets, too -- can also indicate major health problems. Princess Sparklemittens may consider herself too good for generic canned cat food, but your pet's refusal to eat also might be because of gastrointestinal issues, neurological diseases or an oral infection that makes eating too painful. When weightloss becomes noticeable, it's time to call a vet. Pet owners can also keep an eye out for other telling symptoms, like joint pain, wheezing and fever. These may accompany a more serious problem.

On the other hand, the problem might be with the food, not your pet. Dogs and cats hate eating rancid food almost as much as we do, and eating or drinking out of the same old filthy bowl gets unappetizing. Their bowls need to be washed just as often as human dishes.

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