Brush Your DOG’S Teeth Too!

Get your dog ready for that Christmas party: Buy him a nice red sweater and BRUSH HIS TEETH! The problem isn’t just bad breath: By the age of 3, about 80% of dogs and 70% of cats already have gum disease, and preventative measures are key to identifying and stopping the disease before it gets too bad and teeth start falling out.

Veterinarian Marjory Artzer says, "Although prevention may be more effort for the owners, it has the best end result for their pets and often their pocketbook." Dogs often have more straightforward periodontal disease, ranging from mild cases of gingivitis that can be reversed with cleaning, to more advanced cases where dogs can lose teeth. Cats more commonly suffer from issues with teeth being reabsorbed into their gums, leading to inflammatory disease there. If you have a troublesome pet, getting their teeth tended to can sometimes solve the problem: "A lot of times we only know it has been problematic for them after we’ve instituted therapy and they go back to feeling good and have a change in behavior for the better," Artzer says.

Here at unknowncountry.com, we CARE about YOUR health (as well as your dog’s), and let’s face it: Too many of us are overweight. If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to lose pounds, you need to download Anne Strieber’s famous diet book, "What I Learned From the Fat Years." Using scientific principles, she devised a diet that helped her to lose 100 pounds and YOU CAN TOO.