Posts Tagged ‘what dogs eat’

My heart is HAPPY today.      We found a special couple to open their hearts and give another dog a home!  Yay! How good does this feel?   You know what I mean if you have ever found an animal in need.  You feel all that tension and anxiety, and ask “why did I get involved with this?”.  But then you stick with it, you get support and the magic starts to unfold, ending in a blessed act of kindness!  Your hope is raised and you are happy you got involved. You kick up your heels and feel like you helped.

I love this; helping shelter and/or pets that need new homes…and WHEN they get adopted.
It’s a lot like magic.  The Internet is amazing, so powerful and reaches many miles and makes the limits much wider.  I often think about all the dogs, cats, pets that used to rely on the local classified ads in newspapers.  If you were lucky enough a person telephoned.
Our world gets smaller as we match up a dog with someone in LA and the dog lives in NY, or the new pet parent lives in SF and the dog needing a home and is from Utah.   The “right” parent has a better chance to find the “right” pet.

I love doing this work for the animals, it’s from my heart.   My income is generated with my massage practice and has been since 1984.  

In 2010, I created www.mypetfirst.com to educate, network and build community for the animals.   It helps to bring income & keep my heart projects alive. Please consider stopping by and looking at the Pet food I represent, or click google ads below, or buy from my affiliates, and/or order stuff through my link at Amazon (for anything you buy).   We all will benefit!

The pet food, supplements & treats I represent at Life’s Abundance is a human grade pet food that gets delivered right to your doorstep…on a schedule that you control.  The Holistic Vet that formulates it, Dr. Jane, donates, quarterly, to animal rescue groups. The benefits keep on coming!

Please go to my site and check it out:

www.mypetfirst.com
Thank you! Barbara Tapella

This is Barbara and Moki. She found Barbara & was adopted when she was 7 years old and lived a blessed life until she was 16.

This is so CUTE!!!!

Make pet holiday travel safe and sane by following these expert tips.

Traveling can be stressful and terrifying for your pets…and frightened pets can bolt very easily.  Before you go on your trip check your transport equipment, such as carriers and leashes and collars, to be absolutely certain they are safe and secure before you leave home. Have tags printed with your mobile phone numbers so you can be reached if your pets get away from you. Hopefully you are doubly secure with a microchip in your dog, bird or cat’s body.

Traveling during the holidays can be tiring and downright. Make your family holiday sane and safe.  

Here are some important tips:      

Feeding them before you leave will cause them to get upset stomachs and get sick in the car. I do recommend safety seat belts/pet car seats for pets, as we know anything can happen on the road.  Please keep them safe.  And one of the most important things about traveling with pets, is being sure they have proper ID. Go to your local pet store and use their quick vending machine to make a temporary tag that you can attach to your pet’s collar with your name and either cell phone number or phone number of the residence where you will be staying.  Keep in mind that if your pet gets lost and it’s micro chipped, more than likely they’ll be calling your home residence, and if you’re traveling, of course you will not be there to take that call.

Use-TAGG the pet GPS tracker, so if the pet gets out of the car, or gets away at a rest stop, you can easily track it on your smart phone or laptop computer and get them back quickly. You can Google that! (pet tracker-TAGG)

The reason you’re traveling with your pet is because you love it and do not want to leave it home for the holidays, so please love it enough to keep it safe.

Resource for blog “petside.com” and myself

The Following  5 Dog Treats Have Been Recalled By FDA:

Human and Dog Peanut Butter Treats
Beef and Bully Sticks Dog Treats
Natures Chicken Jerky
Boots and Barkley Pigs Ears and Dog Treats
Nature Recipe Dog Treats

Want to be safe in what you feed your cat or dog? Our treats HAVE NEVER BEEN on RECALL!

and Either has our food…Dry kibble or wet…Please check it out, you will love this PET FOOD and they are delivered to your door.

• The American Humane Association has completed phase I of a three-part study on pet ownership. The goal of the study is to help find families for more homeless pets, and to help those pets remain in their new homes forever.
• Phase I of the study examined the reasons people don’t own a dog or cat.,what One surprising result from the survey of 1,500 previous pet owners was that 20 percent were still dealing with the grief of losing a prior pet, which prevented them from getting another four-legged companion.
• Results from phase I indicate pet advocacy groups need to address general negative attitudes toward cats, focus cat adoption strategies on the people most open to owning a kitty, and better understand the role grief plays as a barrier to future pet ownership.

Pets are good for your well-being. Companions and helps calm your nervous system. 

resource: Dr. Becker’s Blog

Quality Pet Food for your Dog or Cat….go here and read about and click it to buy. Simple. and delivered to your door!

found this today, please educate yourself:

Learn from my mistake-

The dogs and I went to Nana’s last Monday for a visit. We were all out in the garage and my chocolate lab, Kona, was in the corner by the door.  My sister (Nana) saw her and shouted “no!”  I ran over to find that she had eaten (some of) the exposed rat poison! D-con!  Nana had put it out when she went on vacation and knew she would not have anyone at the house. Unfortunately, she had gotten home the night (tired)- before we arrived and had not yet picked up the D-con.

To say the least, I FREAKED!  My brain swirled with anxiety because my precious child just ate poison!  I knew it could kill her….that is what it’s main intention is > to kill.  It is a horrible death…the D-Con contains chemicals to cause hemorrhaging and the animal bleeds to death….slowly dying.

I dashed in the house and phoned my Veterinarian.  I was 60 minutes away from home. They said, “take her into the emergency vet…NOW!”   I asked if I should help her throw up. They said, “no…don’t take the time and that the chemical reaction may not be right”. I dashed down the hill with Kona and took her in the office, they took her immediately and took her vitals. They asked if they could induce vomiting and start to treat her. YES!!!!  My heart was beating out of my chest.

The Vet came out and asked if I had the box, he wanted to read which chemicals were in the poison.  I said I could dash home and get it and that I better bring in my other dog, Andy.   ‘Better to be safe than sorry’ because he was smelling the pellets as Kona was gobbling them.

Returning and waiting while they were both getting treatment was NOT RELAXING! The Doc finally came into the waiting room and said, “you did the best thing; bringing them in right away.  If they were my dogs, I would not worry because we treated them quickly. They must take K1 pills for 30 days and have follow up blood tests.”. Apparently, Vitamin K1 helps to counter-act any poison that may have been absorbed in the system that could cause bleeding out.  I then asked him, “if I had not seen her eat the D-con, what type of symptoms would I have witnessed?”  He told me the dog would become lethargic and you will see blood coming out her eyes, ears, anus, and possible bruising. At that point, treatment involves transfusions and the dog is in a lot of pain.  Most probable….death.

All three Vets said that stuff should be taken off the shelf! and snail bait, too…that causes seizures! Throw it out.

Before I could recover from all this, they gave me the bill…. $665.00…Mama Mia!

WE do eat the best dog food! Not sure why we decided to munch on Rat Poison! Our advice: DON’T TRY IT!

found this on Ellen Degenere’s page:
There are a lot of great reasons to stop eating animal products. Here are a few of the most common.

Do It for the Planet

Animal farming is the number one cause of climate change in the world. In fact, it has a 40% larger carbon footprint than all transportation around the globe combined. That means that every car, truck, bus, train and plane on our planet combined is almost half as bad for our planet as modern animal farming.

Animal farming is a huge drain on resources like water and grain. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat, compared to only 25 gallons to produce a pound of grain. 70% of the grain grown in the US is used for producing meat. If that grain were being fed directly to people, no one would have to go hungry.

Currently, a third of the land on our planet is used to raise farm animals. One large factory farm can create as much waste as the entire city of Los Angeles.

Do It for the Animals  

99% of all land animals used for meat, milk or eggs is factory farmed. Around 450 billion animals are factory farmed on our planet every year. The standards for ethical treatment in these facilities continue to decline.

Dairy cows are considered the most cruelly treated animals in factory farms. They are kept constantly pregnant, and their calves, considered byproducts, are put to death almost instantly.

Chickens are now specifically bred for either eating or laying eggs. Male “egg-laying” chicks, unable to fulfill their purpose, are all killed right away, often very inhumanely.

The over-fishing of our oceans has led to a dangerously dramatic decline in wildlife. For every ten tuna, sharks, and other large predatory fish that were in our oceans fifty to a hundred years ago, only one is left.

Many species are on the verge of extinction for being “accidentally” killed in modern fishing practices. In Indonesia, for every one pound of shrimp, 26 pounds of other sea animals were killed and tossed back into the ocean.

Do It for Yourself

Scientific studies supported by the American Dietetic Association have confirmed that vegan and vegetarian diets are associated with lower cholesterol, lower risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure, lower risk of hypertension and Type 2 diabetes, lower body fat, and lower overall cancer rates. In fact, studies have shown that a vegan diet can actually reverse diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. For more info, check out “Forks Over Knives.”

Vegetarian and vegan diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and cholesterol, have higher levels of dietary fiber, magnesium and potassium, vitamins C and E, and folate.

The health benefits of a vegetarian and vegan lifestyle are vast. The American Dietetic Association (or ADA) released a report which stated that vegetarians and vegans “meet and exceed requirements” for protein consumption. In fact, vegetarians and vegans usually have better protein consumption than people who eat meat, dairy and eggs.

If you decide to visit a dog park, it is important to be able to read the body language of your dog and the other dogs present. The ideal body language is playful, but dogs will exhibit a variety of behaviors as they contact new dogs and spend more time at the park. Overall you are looking for balanced play between dogs – sometimes one is on top and next time he’s on the bottom. Sometimes he’s the chaser, and next he will be the chased.

It’s always wise to leave the park if your pet shows signs of tiredness, stress or fear or if there are dogs present who seem threatening.

Playful actions to watch for:

• Back and forth play – dogs change position – role reversals
• Bouncy, exaggerated gestures
• Wiggly bodies
• Open relaxed mouth
• Play-bows
• Twisted leaps or jumps
• Pawing the air

Signs of Anxiety/Stress to Monitor:

• Fast wagging low tail
• Whining or whimpering
• Ears may be back
• Hiding behind objects or people

Signs of Fear:

• Dog will try to look small
• Tail tucked
• Hunched over, head down
• Tense
• May urinate submissively

Red Flags that Require Intervention: PAY ATTENTION!

Leave the dog park, if your dog is:

• Excessive mounting
• Pinning (holding another dog down and standing stiffly over them)
• Shadowing another dog (following) incessantly
• Bullying: repeatedly bothering another dog that does not want to interact
• Fast non-stop running with a group – high arousal situation
• Full-speed body slams
• Putting head repeatedly onto another dog’s neck or back
• Staring with a fixed gaze directly at another dog
• Snarling or raised lips
• Showing teeth
• Hackles up at the shoulders

Signs of Potential Illness – While not necessarily related to behavior, you will want to remove your dog from a park where dogs are showing the following symptoms:

• Coughing or gagging
• Vomiting
• Sneezing
• Diarrhea

In theory, dog parks are a wonderful way for dogs to socialize with other friendly dogs. It is important that owners who frequent dog parks know the limitations of their pets and act accordingly to keep playgroups interacting in a safe and responsible manner.

BE A RESPONSIBLE AND AWARE PET PARENT!

(article resource: ASSOCIATION OF DOG TRAINERS) 

First, rawhide is largely indigestible. That’s right: indigestible. I have known a friend’s dog die right in front of her because of this deadly treat. I think they should be banned from the shelf.  The only thing that is good about it is that the whole animal is being used and not wasted for giving up their life.

Dogs have died or had serious complications requiring surgery from blockages
caused by rawhide pieces. Our Porkhide products, by comparison, are about
95% digestible, meaning that there’s very little waste. Also, our Porkhides
are made of layers of pork skin, and those layers come apart as the dog
chews. So there are never the big solid pieces that there are with rawhide.
Our Porkhides contain zero chemicals-no dyes, no preservatives, no bleaches.
Nothing but pork skin. Look at our Porkhide packages, you’ll see
that they are 93% protein. Rawhide mostly ends up as undigested pieces in
the back yard, and it has little or no nutrition at all.

Much rawhide is treated with dangerous chemicals-ash-lye solutions,
bleaches, etc. In theory, rawhide that says it’s made in the USA shouldn’t
be laced with chemicals, but there’s no way to know for sure. Many rawhide
products are actually from China. Don’t gamble with your pet’s digestive system.

Rawhide is made from beef.  As Dr Jane tells us (and as I saw on the news
just a week or two ago), there are cases of Mad Cow Disease in the US,
although they seem to be mostly concealed from us. At least we don’t often
hear about them. For that reason, Dr Jane doesn’t use any beef in any
products she formulates.

Finally, here’s what our Life’s Abundance websites say about Rawhide vs
Porkhide: “Rawhides are cured with harsh chemicals (like ash-lye solutions
and bleach) and are known to cause choking, throat irritations and
intestinal blockages.”

We have the porkhides and porky puffs. My dog LOVES them. Our food is fresh and has NEVER been on Recall!

Try our healthy treats for dental, breath and lowfat!