Dog First Aid: What Every Owner Should Know
When you sustain a minor injury like a cut or scrape, you probably find your first aid kit and pull out the antibiotic ointment and bandages. Dealing with small injuries is no big deal. But what do you do when your dog is injured? Knowing the basics about dog first aid could save your pet’s life one day.
Solving Litter Box Problems
Cats are the neat freaks of the animal kingdom. They spend hours each day grooming themselves, making sure that every hair is in its proper place. What many cat owners appreciate about their pets is the fact that they eliminate discretely in a box that can be hidden away – out of sight, out of mind. Unfortunately, it is fairly common for cats to develop elimination problems. In fact, as many as 10% of cats will start eliminating outside the litter box on occasion or, in some cases, stop using it at all.
7 Reasons Why You Should Crate Train Your Dog
I got my first dog over thirty years ago . We always had dogs when I was growing up, but this was the first purebred of my very own after I moved out of my parent’s house. She was a golden retriever from a well-respected breeder and proved to be an education for me.
Taurine in Pet Food
There are 22 amino acids, the basic building blocks of protein. Animals can manufacture many of them in their liver, but some must be obtained in the diet—these are called ‘essential.’ In humans and dogs, taurine is not ‘essential’, since it can be synthesized within the body. But for cats, it’s a different story.
Teaching Your Dog to Swim
Summer is here! It’s hot and the best way to cool off is to go for a swim. Even better if your furry buddy can join you in a cooling dip as well. Most dogs like the water. Some prefer to stay in the shallows with their feet on the ground while others dive in with gusto. But, a few are not enamoured with the idea of getting wet at all and need encouragement.
My Cat Won’t Eat Wet Food!!!
It might seem like a natural thing for cats to savour canned food. Usually it means more meat and flavour for them and being obligate carnivores, you would think offering your kitty a canned food would be a no-brainer. But that isn’t always the case. Cats are very texture and flavour sensitive, and if they were never exposed to the variety of textures and flavours available in wet food, it might be more difficult than you think to break them of their dry food habits.
Rotation feeding / Rotational Diet
The concept revolves around changing your pet’s diet regularly. It’s all about variety. We humans don’t like to eat the same thing every day, and many pet parents believe their pets don’t care to either. Variety can be offered by feeding different recipes, or even offering different types of food like dry, canned or freeze-dried. Food rotation can occur on a monthly or weekly basis.
Is Your Dog Happy? Part 2: Creating Activities for Your Dog
Understanding your dog’s precursors to his or her “fight or flight” reaction, is crucial to building a trusting relationship between you two. As simple as this sounds, if you don’t understand these “precursors,” often dogs will appoint themselves with the task of assigning behavioural actions they deem best. Ultimately, they want to be assured that you know what is best for them and will keep them safe.
Is Your Dog Happy ? Part 1
We all know that a healthy pet means fewer vet bills and the easiest way to promote well-being in your dog is through a nutritious diet, but is that the only component necessary? What about exercise, playtime, proper shelter, etc? All of these contribute to the well-being of your dog too. So, is he happy? How would you know if he/she is? And for those who don’t have a dog, yes, dogs have emotions too!
The Benefits of Adding Fish to the Raw Diet
An incredibly valuable protein source that pet owners often miss is fish. Did you know that fish is packed with omega 3 fatty acids? It's a low fat, high protein food with a great polyunsaturated fat profile (the good fats). Most animals, including humans, are not getting enough omega 3 in their diet.
The ABC’s of Fruits and Vegetables
Apples are a good source of Vitamin A and C. Red Delicious, Northern Spy and Ida apples in particular
contain powerful anti-oxidants. Interestingly, organic apples contain one third more anti-oxidants than non-organic apples! Apples also contain pectin, a fiber that creates short chain fatty acids. This can get rid of toxins in the intestinal tract, strengthen intestinal muscles and ward off dangerous bacteria.However, while the fruit is safe for dogs, apple seeds contain cyanide. Do not feed apple cores to your dog.
contain powerful anti-oxidants. Interestingly, organic apples contain one third more anti-oxidants than non-organic apples! Apples also contain pectin, a fiber that creates short chain fatty acids. This can get rid of toxins in the intestinal tract, strengthen intestinal muscles and ward off dangerous bacteria.However, while the fruit is safe for dogs, apple seeds contain cyanide. Do not feed apple cores to your dog.
Should you feed your pets (dogs and cats) fruits and vegetables?
Yes, but you need to know which fruits and vegetables are beneficial and which ones are not safe. You also need to know the right quantity to feed your pet. But first, let’s consider the physiology of dogs and cats. Both dogs and cats have single hinged jaws and sharp incisors – teeth designed for ripping and tearing. They do not have molars for grinding and they cannot move their jaws from side to side as a cow does when it chews.
