Category Archives: Article

Debunking the Myths of Rawfeeding

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This is for those of you who may be thinking about rawfeeding or are just interested in the subject I wanted to take some time to tell you about some myths and realities of raw feeding.

One thing that I can tell you, since I’ve had my Jezzie and Bruti on a combination raw/home-cooked diet, they are now in the best health they’ve ever been in. They’ve shed those few extra pounds, their skin and coats are wonderful, their energy level is high, much fewer allergies and ear infections, fresher breath, clean teeth. No, it’s not a cure all, but it has made an amazing difference.

Myth: DOGS ARE OMNIVORES

This is false. Dogs are carnivores, not omnivores. Dogs ARE very adaptable, but just because they can survive on an omnivorous diet does not mean it is the best diet for them. The assumption that dogs are natural omnivores remains to be proven, whereas the truth about dogs being natural carnivores is very well-supported by the evidence available to us.

1.) Dentition

Look into your dog or cat’s mouth. Those huge impressive teeth (or tiny needle sharp teeth) are designed for grabbing, ripping, tearing, shredding, and shearing meat (Feldhamer, G.A. 1999. Mammology: Adaptation, Diversity, and Ecology. McGraw-Hill. pg 258.). They are not equipped with large flat molars for grinding up plant matter. Their molars are pointed and situated in a scissors bite (along with the rest of their teeth) that powerfully disposes of meat, bone, and hide. Carnivores are equipped with a peculiar set of teeth that includes the presence of carnassial teeth: the fourth upper premolar and first lower molar.

Carnassial teeth

This is the skull of a weasel (also in Order Carnivora), courtesy of Centennial Museum. The carnassial teeth are marked with black arrows. You can find these same teeth in the mouth of your dog or cat or ferret.

Contrast this with your own teeth or the teeth of a black bear. A black bear is a true omnivore, as are we. We have nice, large, flat molars that can grind up veggies. Black bears, while having impressive canine teeth, also have large flat molars in the back of their mouth to assist in grinding up plant matter. Dogs and most canids lack these kinds of molars. Why? Because they don’t eat plant matter. Teeth are highly specialized and are structured specifically for the diet the animal eats, and the difference between a bear’s teeth and a dog’s teeth (both species are in Order Carnivora) demonstrates how this can be (Feldhamer, G.A. 1999. Mammology: Adaptation, Diversity, and Ecology. McGraw-Hill. pgs 260.). To see a visual comparison of the teeth of a dog to the teeth of a black bear, please click here. One can logically ask: If a dog (or cat or ferret) has the dentition of a carnivorous animal, why do we feed it pelleted, grain-based food?

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For the Love of Your Dog, Get a Second Opinion!

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I recently came across an story that really hit home for me, especially after hearing from friend that her beloved dog possibly has cancer. I know that when she told me, I immediately told her to make sure she gets a second opinion and speaks with specialists.

The story I came across talks about a family who was told that their sweet greyhound had osteosarcoma after having a blood clot between two of his vertebrae that was pressing against his spine removed. The vet originally told them that there was a 90 percent chance that it was nothing but took the precaution of sending it off for a biopsy.

When they returned to pick up their dog, the vet told them that the biopsy, verified by two pathologists, showed osteosarcoma, a painful and aggressive form of bone cancer. He recommended that they have their dog euthanized within days to save him the pain he would go through with this.

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Parvo – How Can You Give a Puppy’s Immune System a Boost?

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Carried and transmitted by dogs, parvovirus has a 20% mortality rate in dog treated in time, an 80% mortality rate for those who are not. Much more common in puppies than older dogs, parvo grows best in the rapidly dividing cells of the dog’s intestines. As the virus attacks and kills these cells it causes massive diarrhea and halts or slows the creation of white blood cells. In young puppies it can often directly infect the heart, leading to death.

So what can you do to give your puppy’s immune system a boost to help enable them to protect their selves?

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Dognapping on the Rise – Protect Your Pets!

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This article comes from my For the Love of the Dog site and is well worth taking the time to read, for the safety of your canine companions;

Lately, if you watch the news, you will have noticed an increasing rash in the number of stolen dogs; from pets stores, shelters, vehicles, people’s homes and even off the street when someone may leave their dog unattended. The largest majority are smaller, purebred dogs because they have turned into a commodity. They’re easy to grab, transport and turn into cash. their popularity has risen dramatically recently especially with the celebs and their pocket pooches. It’s chic and thieves are taking advantage.

Here’s some information and advice to help you protect your canine companion and don’t think it can’t happen to you, it can happen to anyone! Don’t take the chance, be prepared!

Dognapping on the Rise

As the value and profile of purebred and crossbred dogs are on the rise, so are incidents of dognapping. The theft of pet dogs was once a rare occurrence, but has become a specialized criminal enterprise. Like car thieves, dognappers tend to target specific types of dogs. Toy breeds such as Chihuahuas, Yorkshire terriers and Maltese are especially desirable to dognappers as they are in high demand and can fetch upward of $2,500.

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Let’s Talk Chocolate Toxicity and Dogs

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Here’s an excellent article about chocolate toxicity and dogs from For the Love of the Dog. Cat owners, you have little need to worry, it seems that cats avoid chocolate for some reason. Maybe dogs could take a lesson in this!

As a dog owner, you should know by now that your dog should not eat chocolate. It is toxic and in a large enough quantity, it can kill! So let’s talk a little about chocolate and what’s in it that’s the problem.

  • The toxic component of chocolate is theobromine.
  • The half life in the dog is 17.5 hours.
  • The Toxic dose in the dog is 100-150 mg/kg (kilogram (kg) = 2.2 lbs, milligram(mg) = 1/1000 of a gram).

So for a 50 pound dog, a toxic dose would be roughly 2.2 grams (2200 mg) of pure chocolate. For a 10 lb dog, the toxic dose is 500mg.

However the concentration of theobromine varies with the formulation of the chocolate so:

  • Milk chocolate has 44mg/oz (154mg/100gm): toxic dose for 50 lb dog – 50 oz of milk chocolate.
  • Semisweet chocolate has 150 mg/oz (528mg/100gm): toxic dose for 50 lb dog – 15 oz of semisweet chocolate
  • Baking chocolate 390mg/oz (1365 mg/100gm): toxic dose for 50 lb dog – 5 oz of baking chocolate

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Supplementing Your Dog’s Diet – Glucosamine

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This comes from my For the Love of the Dog site;

Although I am not a proponent of commercial dog food, I will admit that most high quality dog foods do have most of the vitamins, minerals and whatnot your dog needs. As you stand in the store pondering the plethora of varieties of dog food for your dog’s diet, your mind can truly become overwhelmed. The numerous ingredients in dog food simply complicate things even further. Who really knows what all of those ingredients really mean? You see glucosamine on some of the dog food labels. That sounds a bit familiar. What exactly is glucosamine and why should it be in your dog’s diet?

You have probably heard of glucosamine in the news. Glucosamine has been beneficial to joint health in humans. Research has also shown that glucosamine in a dog’s diet can be beneficial to your pet’s health.

Glucosamine is a dietary supplement that has been shown to encourage good joint health. This supplement helps to maintain good joint cartilage. Glucosamine is one of the key building blocks to produce joint lubricants. The joint lubricant helps to keep the joints moving and functioning with ease. Glucosamine in your dog’s diet will ensure your pet’s joints work at their peak performance levels for years to come.

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Do You Know What To Do for a Choking Pet?

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This is some important and helpful advice from For the Love of the Dog

A choking pet is scary and something that requires immediate attention. If you don’t know what to do and how to do it, your pet may lost their life. Read on for information about what to do for a choking pet, including the Heimlich Maneuver and Pet CPR.

SIGNS

The signs of choking are much the same as a person. Your dog or cat is struggling to breathe, with their mouth open. They may be pawing at their mouth. They may be attempting to vomit. You may hear an unusual sound as they attempt to breathe and pull air through a foreign object lodged in their throat.

CAUSES

The causes of choking are with anything that can lodge in the throat. This is fairly exclusive to dogs – cats are usually more particular. An example would be a dog fetching a ball, and having it lodge in their throat. A variety of food objects can lodge in your pet’s airway.

SOLUTIONS

CALL YOUR VET IF NEEDED. Dogs are notorious for trying to swallow things that are a little too big. The result can be choking where an object lodges in the airway.

REMOVE THE OBJECT. When time is of the essence, you must act quickly.

For a dog

  • Open your pet’s mouth
  • Grasp the upper jaw with one hand over the muzzle.
  • Press the lips over the upper teeth with your fingers on one side and the thumb on the other so that the dog’s lips are between its teeth. Firm pressure may be required. The dog then can’t close its mouth without biting itself and is less able to bite you. Pull his tongue out of the way.
  • Reach deeply in to the back of your pet’s throat and try to grasp the object. If it is a ball, and you are unable to move it, try using some type of instrument; tweezers, pliers or even a spoon shaped tong.

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Does Your Dog Chew Grass?

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My dog crops grass like a cow. He eats it with gusto whenever he encounters it, to the extent that my friends have begun to refer to him, jokingly, as ‘The Ruminant’. This habit of his doesn’t bother me at all, since it seems to have no ill-effects on him whatsoever – although, when I’m standing outside in the cold waiting for him to relieve himself during one of his infrequent small-hours toilet calls (normally his timing is much more considerate), it’s hard not to hop impatiently from foot to foot while he enthusiastically tears out the mandatory five to seven mouthfuls of grass, chews thoroughly, and swallows, instead of just getting on with the task at hand.Unless your dog’s digestion is suffering unwanted upheavals from his grass-eating habit, it’s not really a problem. Dogs have been eating grass since the dawn of time (or at least, of the species) with few ill-effects, aside from the odd bout of vomiting – and really, this is one of those things that seems to bother owners a lot more than their dogs; most dogs, will simply re-ingest the vomitus and go about their day unfazed.

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Vet Advise – Part 7 – Blood Pressure, Kidney Disease, Anemia and a Pet First Aid Kit

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Dr. Andrew JonesI’m going to be passing along some vet advise from Dr Andrew Jones, author and creator of Veterinary Secrets Revealed.

Dr. Jones has more than a decade of experience and has his own veterinary practice.

Dr. Jones also has a great online vet site called ‘The Inner Circle’ where you can find some incredible information, answers to questions, a library and forum.

Now let’s hear from Dr. Andrew Jones!

Evaluation of blood pressure, treating kidney disease, treating anemia, plus how and what to put into a pet first aid kit.

Checking the pulse and evaluating blood pressure

Evaluate your pets’ blood pressure by palpating their pulse.

The best spot to do this is on the inside of the back leg (thigh). Place your three middle fingers across the middle of your pets inside thigh and apply moderate pressure. Here you are feeling the femoral artery. This is more difficult in small dogs and cats.

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Separation Anxiety and Your Dog

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Separation anxiety is one of the most common problems that dogs develop. It’s an anxiety disorder, and is defined as a state of intense panic brought on by the dog’s isolation/separation from her owner(s).

In other words: when you leave for work in the morning, your dog is plunged into a state of nervous anxiety which intensifies extremely quickly.

Dogs are social animals – they need plenty of company and social interaction to keep them happy and content. No dog likes to be left alone for long stretches of time, but some dogs do a lot worse than others: these are the ones most prone to separation anxiety.

There are a number of contributing causes to the condition:

– Some breeds are genetically predisposed towards anxiety and insecurity, which is something you should consider when deciding which breed you’re going to go for (particularly if you’re going to be absent for long stretches of time). A few of these breeds include Weimaraners, Springer Spaniels, German Shepherds, and Airedales

– A significant proportion of dogs from shelters develop separation anxiety. Most of these ‘shelter dogs’ have undergone significant trauma in their lives – they’ve been abandoned by their previous owners – and thus they have little trust that their new-found owner (you) isn’t going to pull the same trick.

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