Dogs sometimes have a bad habit of putting anything they find inside their mouths. Actually, let me correct that statement, dogs always seem to find a way to put objects in their mouth that do not belong there! They tend to pick up all types of stuff, ranging from balls to rocks, small toys to articles of clothing, basically anything they deem fun to play with.

Unfortunately, there are many times when a dog accidentally swallows these objects and it becomes lodged in his throat. If this object is not removed immediately then there is the chance for the animal to stop breathing and become unconscious.

Since this occurrence is very common with all pets, it would behoove of you to learn the basic moves that it takes to help your dog from choking. This can invariably save the life of your pet.

Below are basic First Aid steps which can come in handy for a choking dog:

If Your Dog Is Choking, But Remains Conscious

1. With two hands, open your dog's mouth and look inside to see if you can see the object. If you can see it, try your best to remove it.

2. If you cannot see the object, place your dog on its side and elevate the hindquarters.

3. Now place your hand below the rib cage and another on the dog's back. Press in and then up, all in one fluid motion. Keep pressing until the object is coughed up.

4. If the object does not come up then your dog may become unconscious. If this happens, then follow the steps below.

If Your Dog Becomes Unconscious

1. As stated above, be sure that the dog is placed on his side with elevated hindquarters.

2. Open the airway and be sure the tongue is pulled out as far as possible and placed to the side.

3. Now perform several compressions in the same area that you had attempted to press in the rib cage. After two to three compressions, check the mouth for any foreign objects by using the sweep of your finger.

4. Now give the dog a few aspirations.

5. Repeat this cycle of compressions, finger sweeps, and artificial respiration breaths until your dog starts breathing by himself and dislodges the object.

Finding the perfect dog food for your dog can be difficult and incredibly frustrating, especially since the industry has not been truthful in terms of the production of dog food. Recent reports and
news has shown us that dog food companies have been forced to recall some of their brands - due to dangerous ingredients in the food- and the worry that their questionable processing techniques
will be exposed to the public.

Most of us know that junk food isn't good for us, and the world at large is beginning to understand that we have suffered somewhat at
the hands of the food industry due to preservatives and other
techniques that are used to increase profits (but drop the quality and nutritional value of the food.) Consumerism and marketing, the
'bottom-line' and the increasing of profits have led to all sorts
of 'shortcuts' to decrease costs and preserve food that are not
good for us in the least. We have not, unfortunately, taken this
thinking to our dog's health and have the mistaken assumption that
food process techniques of dog food companies must be fine, or that
our dog is tough enough to handle pretty much any food. Just like
junk food, dog food can be tasty, but provides no nutritional value
- and even MORE concerning is the fact that the preservatives and
chemicals used in dog food were banned from human food years ago
due to these chemicals being dangerous and the cause of numerous
diseases and sicknesses.

Any dog lover will be concerned for their dog's health, and should
take every precaution necessary to ensure it. When our dog is sick,
we take it to the vet, but often we can never quite figure out the
CAUSES of the sicknesses. Just like with humans, the causes of dog
ailments may be the very food we feed them every day. In fact, that
is probably THE very cause. The food may be poisoning your dog, and
you don't even know about it!

Feeding your dog the wrong kind of food results in an unnatural
limited lifespan for your dog, and can destroy your dog's quality
of life and cause your dog to behave awkwardly. Processed dog food
causes many issues such as fatigue, aggression, timidity or even
epilepsy. It also is the cause of many diseases such as cancer,
chronic skin infections, ear infections, and flea or worm
infections. Furthermore, it causes weak and deformed bones, kidney
failure and can cause a dog to heal very slowly and unnaturally
when he/she gets hurt. No amount of expensive 'gourmet' brand of
dog food can actually sort out the problem, because the 'gourmet'
food is processed exactly the same as the cheaper dog food - with
chemicals like Sodium Pentobarbital which is highly destructive and
causes cancer.

It is clear, both from what we see on the news and from what we are experiencing, that dog food companies do not have both dogs and the
owners of dogs' best interests at heart. They are mass-producing
junk food for our dogs and expecting us not to take notice. We have
to take our own much loved best friend's health into our own hands,
and learn the dog food secrets that will ensure our dog will be
happy, full of energy, and live for as long as they should without
suffering from ailments.