Q: My 1yr old beagle barks so much. I’ve tried training her to only bark when told but with no progress, any ideas?

A: Dear Barking Beagle Owner, Thanks for the question. You have selected a breed that is known for their barking and vocalization. Beagles are notorious for their loud nature and tend to bark and talk for no apparent reason other than getting attention. Although this is a common behavior trait, there may be something that is setting her off. I would strongly recommend a consultation with a veterinary behavior specialist in order to get to the bottom of the barking and try to get things turned around before she is older and set in her ways! You can visit their website at http://www.veterinarybehaviorists.org/ and use the search function to find someone in your area.

Q: I have a 35 lb, 4 1/2 year old male Shar-Pei with swollen hock syndrome. Do you have any holistic recommendations?

A: Unfortunately, Familial Shar-Pei fever (aka swollen hock syndrome) is an inherited disorder. If a dog has the recessive gene, they will eventually develop signs associated with the disorder. This disease can be very mild to very severe and it is hard to predict how affected a dog will be. The fevers are often accompanied by severe joint (especially hock) inflammation and over time, a severely damaging protein (called amyloid) will be deposited into the kidney and can eventually cause kidney failure. The best we can do is treat affected dogs symptomatically with pain medications, fever reducers, anti-inflammatories, etc. There has been anecdotal success with colchicine–it appears to markedly improve the quality of life of many affected dogs by lessening the severity and frequency of attacks as well as delay the onset of amyloid protein deposition (thereby delaying the onset of kidney failure). I also recommend the use of an essential fatty acid supplement (like Halo Dream Coat). The fatty acids in this oil supplement are anti-inflammatory in nature and have proven beneficial in many inflammatory conditions.

Good Luck.
Dr. Donna Spector.

The United States Department of Justice honored Best Friends Animal Society for its work with the fighting dogs of Micheal Vick.

If Best Friends had not opened its doors to the dogs, they would have almost certainly been destroyed; instead, they all have worked intensively with trainers and lead new lives — either at the Best Friends sanctuary in Utah or with families.

Click here to read all about it.

Halo is proud to support Best Friends Animal Society (read about our most recent donation here).

Walter Cronkite, the iconic CBS broadcaster who passed away at the age of 92 last week, had dogs and cats throughout his life, and made animal welfare a priority in his long, esteemed life. Visit the Humane Society’s tribute page to read about Cronkite’s love of animals.

My dogs favorite is Salmon Adult dry food. I do occasionally mix in different flavors of the canned varieties for a change. I haven’t tried any of the treats, but I’m sure any of them would be LOVED, as I have 3 Labrador Retrievers that will eat just about anything. I’ve used the daily greens which I like and have been meaning to try hip & joint since we have one dog with knee injuries and one with a hip issue, as well as the healing salve. Since I’m a groomer I thought that the healing salve may be good to try on hot spots or the occasional razor irritation.

I will graciously accept anything that you send my way! And if it’s something that I may not use, I always donate products to the Humane Society at Lollypop farm which is around the corner from my house (even if it is something I use, I will likely share with the Humane Society anyway).

Thank you again, I absolutely love your products and started using them a couple years ago, just prior to the package changes/Ellen purchase/PetCo selling time period for my late Border Collie that had issues with seizures. Your food was the only thing she could eat that helped reduce the amount of seizures she had. She was a changed dog with Halo. Sadly we lost her his past Feb 09, but are so glad that she helped us find Halo and discover the great health benefits it has to offer all of our pets.

A few months ago, a young girl wrote to Ellen DeGeneres, a part-owner of Halo, about how her family gathers around the TV to watch Ellen’s show together, a family activity that keeps the family close. She wrote to Ellen about how hard her parents work, and just needed a break.

Click here to find out what Ellen did for the family.