Great Dog Food Starts With You

Your puppy may look so healthy, and you are deciding on food choices for your new dog. It can be a daunting task, and often, we buy a food, that seems good on the pocket book, at a grocery store, or a big box store, and we end up feeding that, and think it is healthy and wise choice.

Surely, if you take some time to read the ingredients, you will not recognize any of the items on that list. It is really important to stay away from this type of food, as it usually develops other problems.

Food Allergies
Joint Problems
Skin Allergies
Bad Breath
Bad Behavior resulting from Digestive Problems

More vet visits will be in store for you, as Ear Infections often occur with dogs that eat a lot of the wrong food. You may have a healthy dog now, but keep feeding the food that is years old, full of preservatives, by-products, and chemicals, and you will spend more at the vet.

A healthy dog food, with ingredients you understand, is the best dog medical insurance policy!

Dogs and Dog Booties

Your dog boots are really just slipper shoes for your dog's feet. They need some kind of coverage for their paws, especially in the very deep snow, and the cold. If you are considering dog boots, we use these boots, and they work well for dog booties. They will keep your dog's feet warm, even in very cold weather.

Healthy Food Does Help!

If you have found a great food for your dog, and you are now feeding this food, you may want to know when are the ear infections going to cure themselves? When will the skin problems disappear? How about the mange and fleas that your dogs suffer with? These are all clues of auto-immunity gone wild. The body is removing toxins and chemicals faster than it can take in the vitamins and minerals.

The plan will take some time. It will produce results, you need to stay dedicated until it does. One thing you can do is add some sweet potatoes, pumpkin or some baby food that is organic and a mixture of these two items. The power pack of minerals and vitamins, fiber and great amino acids will really boost your dog's digestive system, and allow a great transition.

Be kind to yourself, know you are doing the right thing, and treat the symptoms with vet care when you need to. The mere fact that you are adding great food, will bring a good from of care for long term, life long great health.

Sometimes when you feed the best the worst happens

You might see a downturn in your dog when you change their food. Do not give up your holistic eating plan! This is not a quick fix, and when we made the change with our girls, they took a downturn at the beginning. It was very frustrating, until I learned one important fact: Sometimes you get sicker when you eat better! This goes for people and for animals too. Here's why!

It has to do with your liver, and how your digestive process works. When you are eating crappy food and drinking chemical laden drinks, your body can not remove all the chemicals and toxins. Some of them end up as stored toxins in your fat cells. And, when you eat better, your body is rejoicing with happy news, and says, release the hounds, so to say! The fat, toxins and chemicals that were stored, are suddenly released, and in a binge release into the blood. This, creates a toxic event, where the liver is overwhelmed, and it takes some time for the after effects of years of stored junk to be sent out to pasture. So, this can take some time!

Imagine you eat for 5 years fast food only. It takes some time before you actually taste real food, and enjoy it. It takes some time for your body to flush and clean itself. And, when the process is done, you have a really amazing powerful machine. This can take up to a year sometimes.

If you are experiencing bad breath, fat, poor dental hygiene, allergies, lethargy, and depression or sadness in your dog during this transition, do not give up your plan. I would appreciate your comments on any questions you may have while you go through this purging period.

Happy barks!

Fillers and Corn

What is a filler? Have you ever wanted to know, what they are talking about when you hear the term filler? Here is a list of what most fillers are:

Corn
Wheat
Rice
White Potatoes

This looks like it would be OK, right? When you look at the list, it looks better than the by-products, but really, it is a very unhealthy option for your dogs. You need to ensure these items are never in your dog's food, and here is why!

Your dog has a very small digestive system, and the fillers above are very hard on your dog's liver and kidneys. The toxic fillers above will not only make your dog sluggish and fat, but it will eventually lead to kidney issues.

Many animals die of kidney, pancreatic, stomach, and liver problems in their elderly days. Not to mention, heart disease. It is a clear choice, filler or no filler, you decide!

By-Products in Dog Food

Your dog is your best friend, so why are you feeding him or her the worst kind of things, like by-products? What are by-products? The most easy way to understand what they are, is what they are not. They are not human grade meat products, they are the things you and I would never eat. The list is disgusting, and includes hair,hooves,eyeballs, some organs like a lung, or a anal canal. This is a way for the meat processing companies to make a fortune, as all of the by-products, or sickening extras, go to dog and cat food companies, and the pet owner, sees by-product or meat meal on the label.

Do not feed your dog meat meal, by-product. It has little nutrition, and to enhance the nutrition, they add some fillers and chemicals to complete this disaster. The most horrific thing about this, is your dog ends up sick and overweight. The same things that happen to people, when they eat food with little nutrition, happen to our best friends.

Dogs love a Good Brushing

If you have a regular brushing with your groomer scheduled, and you take them to the groomer on a regular basis, you should still try to brush your dog. It is a trust relationship kind of thing, and it will improve your relationship with your dog. They often live to do things with you, and if you continue to improve this relationship, you will find them less busy with naughty or bad behavior.

I recommend a good brush, and a great one is made by christensen's in texas, and a great size is the #27 wire brush. It fits in your hand so nice, and it is a really fine wire, so that it does not hurt the dog's skin. We have invested in a dog grooming table, that folds flat for storage, and this has been a good thing, because whenever I get it out, the dogs know it is time to relax, and take it easy.

We used to have a time with brushing, but since we brush more often, and just a little each day, it has been a joy and less of a chore for the dogs.