https://www.barkandwhiskers.com/2016-12-28-nl-5-unsafe-pet-products/
https://www.barkandwhiskers.com/p/846f2848-69e8-4975-96f4-607e9cf43b82/
By Dr. Becker
Taking perfect care of your canine family member means paying attention to the little things – things that you may not even realize need to be cleaned, repaired or thrown away.
Veterinary magazine dvm360 has some excellent advice on dog-related supplies that you probably need to “throw out now” for the sake of your dog’s (and yours) health and well-being.
5 Things Most Dog Parents Need to Throw Out Right Now
1. Run This: Retractable Leash
“Leash” is probably not a good word to describe the thin cord used in many retractable devices. Additionally, the real purpose of using a leash to walk a dog is to keep the animal safe and under its owner’s control.
Retractable leashes often do the opposite unless you have a fully trained dog.
There are many reasons to avoid or reconsider the use of a retractable leashstarting with the fact that with this type of leash, your dog can get far enough away from you to get into trouble or put himself in danger.
Retractable leashes are also responsible for many injuries to dogs and dog walkers, ranging from superficial burns and cuts to gruesome amputations.
In most cases, these devices are also completely counterproductive for training a dog to walk politely on a leash. The very nature of retractable devices trains dogs to pull on the leash to extend the leash. Needless to say, this pulling behavior will repeat every time the dog is on a standard leash.
Replace with this: 6 foot flat leash
2. Throw this away: a plastic food and water bowl
Plastic food and water bowls are inexpensive and convenient. Unfortunately, not only are they impossible to thoroughly disinfect, but as plastic begins to break down, it can leach toxic chemicals into your dog’s food and water.
Additionally, bacteria and oils can get trapped in peeling plastic, which can cause skin irritation or worse.
Some dogs may develop an allergy to the materials and dyes in plastic bowls, and they have also been linked to tear staining. Additionally, aggressive chewers have been known to gnaw their bowls into small pieces and swallow them.
Replace with this: Stainless steel, porcelain, or glass food and water bowls.
3. Throw this away: an old, smelly, ill-fitting necklace
Your dog collar it’s a bit like your underwear. He wears it all the time and it’s very close to his skin. And while most people wouldn’t think of wearing the same underwear day after day without ever washing or replacing them, many dog collars are never washed or replaced.
It’s important to keep your pet’s collar clean to reduce the risk of it causing an infection or hot spot on their skin. Old, discolored collars, those that give off an unpleasant odor, and those that have become too tight or too loose need to go.
Replace with this: New collar
4. Throw This Away: Dull Nail Clippers
Nail clippings are never the highlight of a dog’s day, but one thing that can make a bad situation worse is a pair of dull clippers. If the cutting surface is not sharp, instead of a quick, clean cut, nail clippers may crush and split the nail.
Not only is this uncomfortable, even painful for your dog, but it tends to make you (the human on the other end of the mower) tense. Your dog, in turn, senses your stress, which doubles his own.
Worst case scenario, a nail trim ruined by dull nail clippers can cause your dog to flee the room every time he goes out. Soon your canine friend will have claws instead of nails.
Replace with this: freshly sharpened or new nail clippers, or a battery-operated rotary tool (for example, a Dremel)
Watch me show you how to trim a dog’s nails in the video below:
5. Throw this away: broken or chewed toys
Many dogs are toy killers. And unfortunately, it’s easy for your dog to bite off a piece of a toy or remove the stuffing and swallow it. If he does this out of your sight, you may not even know he is walking around with a foreign object in his gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
Hopefully, the toy will leave your dog’s body whole when he poops or vomits. However, if it becomes lodged in the throat or gastrointestinal tract, it can be life-threatening and require expensive surgery to remove it. It’s a good idea to regularly check the contents of your dog’s toy basket and get rid of anything that could pose a choking hazard or gastrointestinal obstruction. I also recommend potentially avoiding toxic toys.
Replace with this: Repaired or new non-toxic toys
As your dog’s guardian and advocate, it is your duty to keep him safe and healthy. The five items listed above are potential dangers that many pet owners don’t even think about.
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