Balboa Park Animal Rescue Day, originally uploaded by Jim Lockwood.

This picture was taken in Balboa Park on St. Patrick’s Day in 2008. This booth was the Westie Rescue of California.

Balboa Park Animal Rescue Day, originally uploaded by Jim Lockwood.

This was St. Patrick’s Day in Balboa Park, San Diego where many rescue clubs and groups were there to educate the public and let their presence be known. While people were not able to adopt pets that day, they could file applications for later.

This booth is for Bichon Furkids Rescue. Alcala Pet Care highly recommends this rescue organization.

While the Westminster Kennel Club is better known, the Eukanuba National Championship is becoming THE show to attend. This probably has a bit to do with the better weather in California during December than the Westeminster in New York City.

New to the show this year is the inaugural Eukanuba World Challenge. This inaugural international competition will feature top dogs from 40 countries and six continents. Rare breeds such as the Spanish Greyhound and the Azawakh will compete against more traditional favorites such as Poodles and Dalmatians for the title of “World Challenge Winner” and a total of $15,000. American Kennel Club – November 2007 Newsletter

The show is open to the public, this is your best chance to see the top dogs in the world.

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Ben Hunkins, a friend, an up-and-coming golfer, and real estate person has
just met his new puppy. Ben selected him after making sure the breeder had taken all the
necessary precautions and tests before breeding her bitch. He will pickup the puppy at 8 weeks of age when it
is safe for a knowledgeable dog person to take a puppy home.

Ben’s Mother is a breeder of Bichon Frise and he has been around dogs all his life.

This will be a great home for this puppy. The puppy has no name as of yet.
When the puppy is in need of care Ben will bring him to Alcala Pet Care.

Alcala’s search for a better cure begins

After many years of experience, we have this problem well under control. As a pet boarding and grooming facility, we needed to understand what was causing these “hotspots” and how to treat them. Here are some of the lessons we’ve learned.

First and foremost is to act before you have a full blown mess. When I first expect there might be a hotspot problem, the dog is given a medicated bath and carefully blow-dried.

Now carefully inspect the dog’s skin and pat a medicated powder onto the areas that are suspect.

Double check the dog’s skin throughout the day and apply medicated powder before going to bed.. Continue this procedure for the next few days. The powder I like is Gold Bond Medicated Powder. I am sure there are others that work well as well, but since I have had success with Gold Bond I will probably stay with it.

If your puppy gets damp or wet, a hand blow dryer will make easy work of getting him dry. Never put your puppy to bed damp or wet. In a well run boarding facility it is a must to check the dogs all the time.

If you live near the ocean (San Diego or Encinitas) or rainy climate, you must constantly be on guard.

The Dog Owner’s Guide has a good article on the science, cause and cure of hotspots:

Dusty has a superficial pyoderma, a skin infection known to veterinarians as pyotraumatic dermatitis and to dog owners as hot spots. Hot spots are surface skin infections caused when populations of normal skin bacteria grow and overwhelm normal resistance. They are generally circular patches that lose hair, can be swollen, may exude a smelly pus, and can be painfully itchy, causing the dog to scratch, lick, or bite to the point of self-mutilation. Untreated hot spots can spread and provoke a normally even-tempered dog to growl or nip when touched.

These troublesome sores can seem to arise in a matter of hours with no warning, but they do tend to follow a pattern that helps in predicting their occurrence.

Dog Owner’s Guide – Hotspots

Help your mothers and others

About twenty years ago I was very concerned about the mother of a litter of six puppies. The puppies where healthy and eating extremely well; the poor mother was having a hard time to meet their needs.

Expressing my concerns to a fellow friend and dog breeder, Gertrude told me about a custard that she had success when helping feed a litter. I use this to help take some of the load off the mother so she remains in excellent condition and the puppies are quiet and healthy. When using this food the mothers continue to keep the babies clean.

Puppy Custard:

• 2 Qts. 1% milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup Cream of Wheat
• 1 large or 2 small eggs

In a double boiler add milk, sugar, and cream of wheat. Stir and cook until the sugar and cream of wheat are well dissolved and cooked. It takes about twenty minutes for this to take place.

In a small dish whisk eggs and slowly add small amounts of hot milk mixture to eggs. Add egg mixture slowly to milk in pan whisking during the process. After stirring well cover pan and turn the heat to low and cook for approximately 45 minutes.

Do not remove lid until finished. Remove from heat and cool.

Feeding

I use a large eye dropper to feed puppies; the mixture may be thinned with milk. Feed warm.

Good for more than puppies

When feeding puppies and dogs that are ill; use common sense. I have used this food when adult dogs are stressed and eating is an issue.

This custard is wonderful for people who are very ill and have a hard time eating and/or taking medicine. Many stories could be told on this subject.

Do to current dog food problems I wrote this very quickly. If you have any questions or suggestions please let us hear from you.

Jim
Alcala Pet Care