Skin Conditions and the Immune System
In many cases, skin problems in cats or dogs can be linked to allergies or an impaired immune system. If the immune system is not functioning properly, seemingly harmless flea bites, dry patches or small sores can turn into serious skin problems for your pet.
Viral or bacterial infections become commonplace in animals with a weakened immune system. Instead of having the immune system fight off the infections, the pet responds to these irritations by excessive scratching or licking, which further prevents healing and often exacerbates the problem.
Rather than just treat the symptoms, pet owners should consider supporting the immune system so that it can do its job of fighting disease and infection
Dogs Need Different Diets at Different Ages
Dogs need different diets at different ages. For example, puppies need their mother’s milk as their major food source, while an growing dog may need more protein such as beef or chicken or an additional egg and milk. So depending on the age of the dog, the diet schedule will vary as the dog grows like any other species.
Puppies need greater amounts of protein, fat and carbohydrates than an a fully grown adult dog. Puppies also need more frequent feeding schedules in a day, unlike an adult dog. Since younger dogs are more active than older dogs they require more fuel to feed that energy.
Older dogs need less protein but the protein needs to be easily digestible and easily assimilated in the body. The diet schedule should have ample supply of water for them. Feeding aged dogs too much protein may also lead to an over burden of the renal structures and ultimately, the dog may end up damaging filters in the kidney.
This is true especially when the immune system of these dogs is compromised due to many different reasons. Similarly, elderly dogs need less food because they are less active that the average adult dog so spend a limited amount of energy.
Pregnant female dogs should not be fed until over full since it may cause some discomforts to the animal. However, the pregnant animal and the nursing animal need special types of food that will deliver a balanced type of nutrition with proper supplementation of vitamins and minerals.
The nursing animal with puppies needs to be fed extra amounts of calcium so that there won’t be any calcium deficiency in her or her puppies. This will also ensure strong healthy bones in the puppies, preventing the tendency to bend or curve from the lack of calcium.
Menu Foods Class Action Lawsuit
Berding & Weil, LLP has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of all pet owners nationwide who purchased the pet food that was manufactured by Menu Foods, Inc. and sold under various brand names, including IAMS, and whose pets have become ill or died as a result of eating such food. Menu Foods has recalled all of its “cuts and gravy” wet style of cat and dog food, which was produced in its plants between December 3, 2006 and March 2007.
Answer to “Menu Foods Class Action Lawsuit”
Do You Think ?
That sometimes people forget about how valuable the life of their pet is, when they leave them tied up too long?
Some of these are sad and some are a chuckle.
“Everybody’s got that one buddy, the guy who’s not even half as bright as you are, but the very thought of whom gets you chuckling to yourself until you can’t help but get out your phone and see what the funny sonofabitch is up to this afternoon.” - Jon – DogBlog
Have a look at more by this talented blogger/photographer named Jon:
Dog Food Ingredient Secrets
I have spoken often about how imperative it is for every dog owner to know the ingredients in every bit of processed dog food they are buying to feed their dog, or any pets, for that matter. In this day and age of the corporate “bottom line” of greedy stockholders, every dog owner needs to become educated as to what the dog food ingredients are, that are listed on the packaging labels of dog food. Because there is very little legislation governing the quality of dog food ingredients, the “almighty dollar” is much more powerful than the lives of our pets.
Every dog owner needs to learn what the terms really mean that are being printed on those labels so that they know what to look for when they are out shopping for nutritional dog food products to feed their dogs.
We all love our pets and want the best for them. We want them to have beautiful shiny coats, pink gums, sweet breath, and to protect them from illness and harm. We treasure their existence and in so many cases, either couldn’t live without them or would be devastated trying to, in the case of loss. Insuring that they are fed a healthy diet to not only maintain their health, but to also prolong their lives, has become a major concern as we discover more and more how the dog food companies are blatantly lying to us.
Something that many pet owners are unaware of, is how the ingredients can, by law, be listed. When reading the list of ingredients, the dog food should not contain any of these five ingredients:
1. Animal fat
2. Meat by-products and bone meal
3. Fish by-products
4. Liver meal
5. Poultry fat or poultry by-products
I know these ingredients sound harmless and they are meant to. They’ve been carefully named to fool the consumer. Any time you see a generic term such as the above, the red flags should go off in your head.
You do not want to buy any food with these generic term. The ingredients must specify what type of animal that the “by-product” or “meal” is coming from. It must specifically state:
Beef, lamb, chicken, duck, turkey, bison (or buffalo), tuna, shod, cod or whatever the type of meat the product comes from.
Why shouldn’t the generic terms be used?
Because they can, by law, contain practically anything from bird feathers to horse hooves, from rotting road kill to euthanized animal shelter animals, from diseased zoo animals to euthanized animals from your vets office.
Answer to ” Dog Food Ingredient Secrets”
High Quality Dog Food vs. Poor Quality Dog Food
High quality dog foods should contain the following:
Sources of protein, that are either whole fresh meats or single source meat meal such as chicken meal rather than poultry meal. I know they sound the same but they are not. Be wary of generic terms for meat.
On packaged dog foods, a whole-meat source should be the first two ingredients, such as beef, lamb or chicken.
Whole, unprocessed grains, vegetables, and other foods, such as brown rice and not fillers such as brown rice hulls. See the difference?
Very little nutrients and enzymes, if any at all, can be found in processed dog foods. To find out exactly what nutrients your dog needs read Healthy Dog Food Diet.
Poor quality dog foods will contain the following:
Corn is the number one ingredient in most low quality dog food. Corn is a low cost filler and nothing more. Dogs have a very difficult time digesting corn and there is no nutrition value in it for your dog.
Meat by products are not whole meats. They are a boiled down goop of animal body parts that are processed into soft dog food or dried and turned into kibble. To learn more about the processing cycle read Are You Poisoning Your Dog? Any food that contains meat by-products as the MAIN source of protein is indicative of a low-quality product, that can be the cause of disease in your animals.
Dogs do need some fat in their diets, but you should avoid feeding them any food that contain fats or proteins that are named generically such as animal fat or poultry fat instead of beef, chicken or lamb fat. Again, the specific name of the type of animal fat is the key here. Avoid the generic terms of animal or poultry meal or by-products.
Artificial preservatives such as BHA, BHT, and ethioxyquin are found in most low cost dog foods to preserve the shelf life. If your dog food can be left on a shelf for several years without turning rancid, then it contains these chemicals. In animals, ethioxyquin (EQ) has been linked to immune deficiency syndrome; spleen, stomach, and liver cancers; and a host of skin allergies
Artificial colors are added to dog food to appease you, the human owner, not the dog. Dogs are color blind and could careless what color their food is. Artificial colors are not good for you or your dog.
Sugars such as corn syrup, sucrose, fructose, cane syrup, or ammoniated glycyrrhizin, to name only a few of the names to disguise sugar, are added to improve unappealing food. Obesity and tooth decay are only two of the problems that too much sugar causes.
Propylene glycol is a toxic substance, when consumed in large amounts like daily feedings, and is added into the goop at the processing plants to give a moist appearance and texture to the “chewy” dog foods.
I can never stress enough to research and learn what the ingredients in your dog food mean and to read your dog food labels. By educating yourself, you may find out what the causes of your dogs illnesses are and be able to cure you pup yourself without the help of the medicines from the vet.
Just by the simple action on your part, of changing you dogs food from an over processed, full of chemicals food, to the nutritious food he needs can eliminate many of the disease, allergies and common ailments that dogs face in todays over processed world.
Let This Dog Clean Your Screen
This is too funny!
I just received this in an email from Justin Bryce of Dog Treat Recipes
yesterday. I was having a particularly bad day and it really made me laugh. Check it out.
So go ahead and let this dog clean your screen!
Then let me know what you think by leaving a comment.
New Dog Training System
There is a new Dog Training System out that has been developed by the Dog Training Institute. The Dog Training Institute is the leading organization in the world dedicated to canine welfare and well being.
The Dog Training Institute researches the best ways to train, maintain and care for dogs. They use their research to help dog owners train their own pets.
They claim that after years of research they have come up with a revolutionary way to house break puppies in only 17 days. or less. I haven’t tried it myself as I don’t have any puppies to train at the moment. All of my pets are older than dirt.
Larry, a 5 month old Dachshund – when his owners applied their techniques, Larry started showing changes in just 72 hours.
“Anyone who has a dog or is thinking of buying a dog will become an absolute expert at training dog within 17 days or less after implementing the techniques present in our membership site…”
They have been running a membership to their Institute for 2 years and have over 14,000 members. When you join the membership you immediately get 3 e-books.
- “The Little-Known Secrets Behind How to Housebreak Your Dog Quickly and Easily (This book will tell you how to quickly and easily housebreak and potty train your dog so that it always relieves itself ONLY where you tell it to and NEVER relieves itself anywhere else under any circumstances)..”
- “The Amazing Truth Behind How to Train Your Dog In Almost No Time At All (This book will tell you how to train your dog to be obedient and disciplined, how to teach it basic commands like COME, SIT, STAY, DOWN etc., how to get it used to staying alone for a few hours everyday, how to quickly and easily fix common behavioral problems like chewing, barking and tearing things up and how to teach it do some amazing tricks!)”
- “How to Teach Your Dog to Love You (This book will tell you how to give a proper diet to your dog , how to feed it properly, how to easily groom it, how to socialize your dog with other members of your family and with other pets, how to sharpen its skills as a watchdog, what to look out for when you buy your first dog , and will provide you with dozens of secret tips and techniques to help you take care of your dog )…”
Answer To “New Dog Training System”
This Dog Training System membership seems to give a lot of value for the money, but like I already said, I haven’t tried it, so I don’t know for sure if it really does or not. If anyone does join or already has joined, please leave a comment to let the rest of us know what your opinion is on it.
Since I have read Kathy Reed’s book on Show Dog Training 101 , and I know Kathy and her dogs personally, I think you are getting a good read for only $20, plus you can email Kathy with any questions that you may have and she is always willing to help.
So, again if anyone buys into this new membership or is already a member, please let the rest of us know what you think.
Do You Have A Big Fat Dog?
My fat dog is so fat that….
“How fat is he? My fat dog is so fat he makes Free Willy look like a tic tac.”
Do you have a fat dog? Don’t feel like you are all alone. Dog obesity has become as big a problem (no pun intended) in the United States, as obesity has become a problem with their owners. Duh! Go figure. The majority of Americans have absolutely no clue as to what a balanced healthy diet is for themselves, let alone what a healthy diet should be for their dogs.
Holy Christmas, people still drink soda pop in this country and think it’s healthy when it is one of the worst things to put in your body and is one of the leading causes of tooth decay, diabetes and obesity.
What is the ending result? You get to tell everyone, “Hey, look at my fat dog!”
All kidding aside, obesity is a huge problem, and if you don’t curb the diet of your fat dog, it could lead to your beloved friends death.
Answer To “Do You Have A Big Fat Dog?”
How To Train Champion Show Dogs
Many people don’t realize that you can’t get just any AKC registered pup and expect to train it to be AKC standards champion show dog that will qualify to become “Best of Breed” or “Best of Show”. There is just way so much more involved than that. Knowing not only how to train, but what to train, is imperative.
Learning how to train your dog to be a champion show dog can be expensive, daunting and confusing when you don’t know where to go or what to do. Learning by trial and error can become even more expensive than learning from one who has “been there, done that”, as you tend to “spin your wheels” off into the wrong direction and before you realize what you have done, the money is already down the toilet, so to speak.
The original purpose of the conformation dog show was to have a platform to select the best breeding stock to carry on the high breeding standards of the dogs that were registered as an American Kennel Club pure blood line. The A.K.C. conformation show was not suppose to be a “beauty pageant” for dogs, however it has pretty much turned into that. I can see myself getting bomb-blasted by show dog competition participants for making that statement, but it is a true statement in my eyes.
A dear friend of mine, Kathy Reed, has been breeding and training AKC registered dogs for years and not only for competition, but also for search and rescue. She has successfully managed both worlds; i.e. “The Beauty Contest” and “The Working Dogs with a Mission”. Kathy has written a manual on training dogs for show. The manual is easy to understand and follow even for the novice. Read more …
Answer To “How To Train Champion Show Dogs”
