The Dog Meister

As syndicated pet-care columnists, we folks at PetConnection.com get oodles of product samples and books. Some we ask for, most we don’t. If we try a product or book and don’t like it, we generally don’t review it. We’d rather help people find the good products than tear down the bad ones.

It happens. Your dog sticks his or her nose into somewhere where another creature is happily minding its own business. Your pet could be quite oblivious and simply snap at an annoying insect. It could also be a simple case of stepping on a bee or snapping at a spider. Some dogs enjoy eating spiders, June bugs and anything that crawls.

Seems everyone’s gone legislation-happy lately. No-Kill advocates are trying new legislative approaches to force animal control agencies and shelters to implement policies that reduce killing. Laws are being proposed all over the country to eliminate puppy mills — some sincerely, others more to regulate, license, and restrict every kind of breeder.

Hereditary diseases are a form of illness passed on from the parents to the offspring. While some forms, such as hip dysplasia, may be more prominent in one breed than another may, all dogs can fall prey to genetic diseases. This is particularly true of epilepsy.

Suryia the orangutan and Roscoe the dog are best friends.

Seriously, they really are! See for yourself…

There are many different breeds of dogs. The variety of dogs is astounding. In order to ensure there is order within the overall system, kennel clubs organize the breeds into different groupings. This is for simplification and for competitions. Each national kennel club may have its own division of dog group breeds.

When I was asked if I’d want to try some of Ceva’s D.A.P. (Dog Appeasing Pheremone) for my dog, I said sure, but I have to admit I was skeptical. It’s a synthetic verson of the pheremones a mother dog releases that calms her pups. The idea is that it’ll help calm dogs who are fearful, whether it’s from storms, fireworks, or other loud noises.

There are a few tricks of the trade that all professional groomers use to give your dog that
great look when they leave the shop. These simple little steps help your dog feel more
comfortable and look better until the next trip to the groomer. If you are not squeamish it is
possible to complete these grooming extras at home…

Last Thursday I did a teleclass for (mostly) pet sitters who wanted to learn about Twitter. The majority of them were newbies, and were anxious to get their tweet on, but didn’t know where to start. These are a few of the people who were on the call. Over the past few days they’ve been trying to find their way around and get used to Twitter.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease affecting the joints. Degeneration of joints and cartilage and swelling affect the mobility and motor functions of your dog. It is becoming a common and serious problem among dogs. A senior canine disease, it nevertheless appears among younger animals.

Dr. Doolittle: Million Dollar Mutts is the newest Dr. Doolittle movie out in recent years. The first two, which I laughed myself silly watching, starred Eddie Murphy as the veterinarian who could talk to animals. I was a little disappointed Murphy wasn’t in this one but it was a cute movie…one kids are sure to love.

Exercise is a very important part of your commitment to maintaining a healthy dog. Your pet
needs regular exercise if he or she is to remain in top shape. How much and what type of
exercise you give your dog may depend upon the age of the dog, the size of the dog, the
condition of the dog and the breed.

We’d like for you to design a new header for the PetsitUSA blog! The header we like the best will live at the top of our blog AND the person who creates it will win some really cool pet stuff! (BUT, if you’re not all that handy with the graphics, don’t worry! We’ve got some other prizes to give away too, and all you have to do is enter.

Crates are common among the dog owning populace these days. At one time, these were the provenance of show people. The general populace once perceived crates as
cruel and confining. In fact, many owners thought of them as punishment. Some people today still consider them as cages, prisons for bad behavior.

It’s gonna be warm here this weekend!

And we have big plans – some agility, some hiking, some playing in our kiddie pool, and more! Can’t wait!!!

One way Mum helps keep us cool after our outside activities is with a super cool homemade frosty paw. I not only like the frosty paws, but I like to lick the spoon too!

Not all dogs are lively bundles of inquisitive boldness. Not all puppies dash straight into yours and everyone else’s arms. Dogs are like people. There are brassy dogs, noisy dogs, quiet dogs and shy dogs. Shy dogs, the timid ones, require a different approach than their bolder cousins.

Many people are now making the decision to feed their dogs a raw diet. More and more studies show that choosing a biologically appropriate diet for your pets has health benefits that are almost unimaginable. However, feeding a raw diet doesn’t come without it’s drawbacks.

Ideally you’d be able to have the equipment, time, and space to prepare your dog’s food yourself. Making a raw diet at home requires lots of research to ensure that you’re providing the appropriate nutrition in the appropriate quantities. It also requires expensive and specific tools, like grinders to mix everything up properly.

More than likely, you’ll decide that you don’t have the time or the energy to make an appropriate diet for you pooch (doesn’t matter if it’s the time, the “ick” factor, or the lack of specialized tools). If you go this route you’ll find yourself boggled by the number of companies that produce a pre-prepared raw diet. Most of them come frozen. Just thaw and serve, right? If you thought the number of companies out there that produce the food was crazy, just wait till you find out how many different forms the raw diet can come in! You’ve got nuggets, patties, chubs, and tubs. And all of it will seem like a completely foreign language.

And then what happens if you happen to go on vacation?! Regardless if you’re taking your dog with you or if you’re boarding him, feeding a raw diet can be overwhelming and confusing (and sometimes the kennels charge extra for all that extra fuss)!!

Well, you’re in luck!!! There is a solution if you’re set on providing all the health benefits of a biologically appropriate diet but you’re not willing to invest in a stand-up freezer in your basement devote just to Fido’s dinner.

The Honest Kitchen: a raw diet without the fuss!

The Honest Kitchen produces a raw food that has been dehydrated. It’s as simple as mixing the product with warm water, letting it it reconstitute for 5-10 minutes, adding in any little fabulous treats (like raw meaty bones, veggies, or cooked meat) that you might want to give your pooch, and then serve!

Magnolia heard about the Honest Kitchen after doing some serious web searching. She knew how hard it was for us when we went on flyball excursions with the frozen raw, and she was looking for a travel-friendly, cost effective solution. It didn’t take long to find the Honest Kitchen since they have tons of excellent PR from very happy satisfied customers! Not to mention an excellent blog that’s not just all about food!

The Honest Kitchen produces all of their formulas in a human-grade kitchen and passes rigorous quality control processes. All of the formulas are made from human-grade products; all the grains are certified organic; the meats are hormone, antibiotic free; and the fruits and vegetables are guaranteed non GMO. Even the Quinoa is certified fair-trade!

But back to meals, after all, what dog isn’t excited about a tasty meal!

Meals, Treats, and More!

Complete Meals

The Honest Kitchen produces 6 different dog food formulas. Five of those are complete balanced meals. The sixth, Preference, is perfect for dogs who have a sensitivity to the more common proteins; it’s got everything except the meat! You add which ever protein your pooch likes the best. Four of the formulas are completely gluten and grain-free. All of their formulas are wheat-free! You won’t find a single piece of filler in these meals!

Magnolia’s two personal favorites are Embark and Thrive. These two formulas are the two highest calorie formulas and are perfect for pooches who get lots of exercise and are active all the time. Thrive is special because it includes the ancient grain quinoa. Quinoa originated in the Andean mountains and is the only grain that is a complete protein, containing every amino acid that the body requires!

There’s something for every dog! The other formulas are:

Nutritional Supplements

Magnolia likes to add a little “umph” to her food too! She’s had some problems with itchy skin and we have been using The Honest Kitchen’s Sparkle supplement to help keep her coat shiny and her skin un-itchy. After using the product after only a month, Magnolia noticed that more people were commenting on how soft and shiny her coat was! It’s no wonder that Cruella De Ville wanted a Dalmatian coat!! They must have been using The Honest Kitchen’s Sparkle formula! She also noticed that she had less shedding and she wasn’t as itchy as she was before we started adding it into her food.

We’re also adding a little Perfect Form to each meal. As embarrassing as it is, Magnolia’s had some “runny poo” in the past. It’s never good to be on a puppy play-date and try to explain that to the other pooches! Perfect Form has just the right ingredients to help firm up stool and make everything come out just right. A little goes a long way! The Honest Kitchen provides excellent guidelines on how much to give your pooch labeled on every jar. 10 ounces has lasted us nearly 6 months already!!

Treats!

Because no meal is complete without dessert, The Honest Kitchen offers four tasty treats. Magnolia and Rebel both personally approve of all four of them!

Nuzzels, Pecks, and Smooches are your replacement to Milk Bones! Much tastier and healthier than Milk Bones, these three treats are wheat-free and made from Barley flour. Like their complete meals, these treats don’t have fillers or by-products to junk up your pooches system. Pecks are tiny little bite-sized treats just perfect for the smaller fur-pals or to use for training treats!

Ice Pups is a completely grain-free treat that you mix together with with water, much like the regular meals formulas. In the winter you can mix Ice Pups with warm water to make cozy broth type treat. In the summer you can mix up Ice Pups and either chill it or freeze it into a nice icy dessert! Puppy gelato!

Magnolia’s Story

Magnolia was diagnosed with Epilepsy when she was less than 12 months old. In the beginning we attempted to regulate her illness with anti-seizure medication. However, after watching her go from an energetic, peppy Dalmatian into a subdued pooch we decided that we needed to start taking a holistic approach and try to reduce some of the medications that Magnolia was taking.

After consulting with the people at the Canine Epilepsy Resource Center we learned that often a raw diet has helped keep seizures at bay. In addition to the Wester and Eastern therapies that we were pursuing we started using The Honest Kitchen’s raw diet.

After a year and a half of being on the raw diet, Magnolia has been seizure free. What’s even more amazing is that we’re reducing her anti-seizure meds!! It’s amazing the change we’ve seen in her just by switching her diet. If that’s not a testimony to how much better this stuff is for your dog, I don’t know what is!

Magnolia wanted me to make sure to tell you that The Honest Kitchen has a kitty formula, Prowl, too! Our kitty crew approves of Prowl too!

If you’re interested in free samples, feel free to contact Whitney at me@whitneyclaire.com. I’ll be happy to get a sample out to you! Be sure to let me know if there’s a specific formula that you’d like to try and where to send your sample out to!

We had a little scare last week. The vet has asked us to keep an eye on the area around Hugo’s suture for any returning tumors. Within a couple of days of the surgery, a mass had started to form just below the suture line, so I immediately freaked out and thought it was cancer. We took him to the vet just to be safe (he needed to have his anal glands expressed anyway) and it was only a buildup of fluid under the wound. So we are putting a warm compress on the area twice a day to help alleviate the liquid.

Hugo is scheduled to have his sutures removed tomorrow and we will chat with the vet a little more on follow-up treatment. So far, he is acting like his old self. Our fingers are crossed that this is the last battle with MCT.