Posts Tagged ‘Dogs And Cats’

What do they mean by fillers?

Used in low quality, cheap commercial dog foods, fillers are basically put in the dog’s “food” to save the manufacturer money, not to increase nutritional values. Included are products that are not edible and difficult for our pets to digest such as: cereal byproducts, – cottonseed hulls, – crushed peanut shells, – straw, – corn and crushed corncobs, – weeds, and – feathers.

A cheap dog food filled with corn fillers, listed as corn, corn meal, and corn gluten meal should be avoided as this is used as substitute for higher quality animal protein sources.

Fillers that are used are not just tasteless, but actually can hurt your pet as they cause digestive problems and horrible allergies. They can cause digestive problems, allergies, and in immune deficient puppies or older pets can cause severe medical problems. .

What is a by-product?

Found in cheap dog food, meat by-products are euphemisms for parts of animals that wouldn’t be considered edible by any smart consumer. Meat by-products actually do not contain meat. By-products are part of the animals that are left over after the meat has been stripped away from the bone. This disgusting cheap dog food mishmosh would then include heads, feet, entrails, hoofs,lungs, spleens, kidneys, brains, stomachs (still with undigested food inside) bones, blood (some with hormones and medications included) intestines and loads of other carcass parts that are not fit for human consumption.

Also, the boiled down flesh of road kill, zoo animals, and 4-D (dead, diseased, disabled dying) livestock is considered okay with these manufacturers. This also can include dogs and cats that have been euthanized. Avoid dog food with blood meal, which is an inexpensive protein booster. The animal source is usually not stated, and the blood can be contaminated with residues of hormones, or medications.

What is a non-specific meat source?

If the main protein source is listed as “meat” this is to be avoided, It is always mystery meat such as: spoiled rotten meat from the grocery store (Styrofoam wrap and all), – Road kill that has been rotting on the roadside, – heads, feet, skin, hair, feathers, carpel and tarsal joints, and mammary glands are used from the slaughterhouses. Animals that have died from diseases, cancerous tissue and all, – tumors and worm infested organs are also rendered. Injection sites are rendered, blood clots and all. Stomach and unclean bowels are rendered. Contaminated material including blood is rendered. Carcasses with high levels of drugs or pesticides in excess of limits prescribed under the FDA (not fit for human consumption) are rendered.

Everything is pitched into large vats and slowly ground, then cooked at low temps till the grease rises to the top. And consider that this is what is listed on the ingredient list as “animal fat”. The rest of what is remaining is then pressed until the moisture is completely removed, and this dry raw material that is referred to as “meat”, is then used in the cheap dog food brands.

Why are artificial colors, preservatives and flavors used?

Flavor is added, because most pets wouldn’t eat the finished product without some sort of cover up for the horrible smell. These additional flavors are usually from rancid restaurant grease. This grease sometimes sits in dumpsters, out in the sun for weeks. This is what the pet food manufacturers buy to add as flavoring, which is sprayed onto the kibble. Also sugar or corn syrup is used to cover up the bad taste of the inferior kibble.

Different dyes are used to make the food look good to us, the pet owner. Dyes are known carcenogenic causing additives, and I’m quite certain my pet, or yours, does not care what color their food is.

Artificial preservatives are used to extend the shelf life of the dog food. The main ones to avoid are: BHA (butylated hydroxytolulene), propyl gallate, propylene glycol (also used in automotive antifreeze, and is suspected of causing red blood cell damage) and ethoxyquin. These are all potentially cancer causing agents that your pets are eating every day.

This all sounds pretty grim, but rest assured there are many extremely excellent, ultra premium organic dog foods now being manufactured without any of the above crap in them. These highly reputable and conscientious companies have philosophies aimed at providing you and your pet the best of the best when it comes to nutrition and peace of mind.

A lot of pet owners are also now making their own all natural dog food at home, and this is always better than the junk the commercial pet food manufacturers are feeding our pets. It is easy, and comparable in price to buying the premium organic dog food brands, as long as you use a proper nutritionally balanced dog food recipe. You can easily find very good dog food recipe books for sale, that have well rounded nutritious meals to make at home. Also you will be able to find recipes online.

Whatever you choose for your pet, remember we speak for them, and choose the best for them that you are able to give.

The Daisy-Dog Pooper Scooper was designed to leave nothing on the ground as Dog droppings are one of the leading sources of E. coli (fecal coliforms) bacterial pollution. The current range of pooper scopper require the feces to be removed from the ground, which does not stop the contamination of the e-coli bacteria to the surface from where the feces has been removed.

The cumulative effect of thousands of dogs and cats in a metropolitan area can create serious problems due to contamination of soil and water supplies. The runoff from neglected pet waste contaminates water, creating health hazards for people, fish, ducks, etc

The Daisy-Dog Pooper Scooper prevents this by catching the fecal matter before it touches the ground.

Many of the European Union countries have laws requiring pet owners to clean up after their pets, Germany has laws that allows the authorities to take DNA samples to match the poop with the dog. In general though it is considered anti social for dog owners not clear up their dogs leave behind, so fines and public shaming are used to bring the nuisance under control.

In the UK a nation of dog lovers. All dogs, whether they are ‘by Royal Appointment’ or just hapless hounds, have something in common that makes them the scourge of the human race: they produce dog poo.
However, it is unfair to blame the canine population; it is the responsibilty of the dog owner to ensure that the dog’s mess is cleaned up. Although there are a great number of owners that do clear it up, there are still some people who feel it is unhygienic. However, it is even more of a health hazard to leave it where it lies – on pavements, in parks and playgrounds, or even on the beach. It is also against the law.

We are now many months removed from the dog food recall. For those that don’t remember or just weren’t checking the news, the dog food recall was where several different brands of dog food were recalled due to impurities in the food that were causing dogs and cats to get sick and/or die. These foods were coming from some of the biggest names in dog food. Dog owners around the world were running scared as they realized that they had been taken by large corporations who weren’t held to high food processing standards. To this day I often get asked by my clients what type of dog food I recommend. Many of my clients have dogs who suffer from allergies, eat their own stool, shed excessively, poop excessively, and have all sorts of other issues related to poor quality pet foods.

It was around that time that I started searching for the right pet food so that I would have an answer when my client asks, “What should I feed my dog.” My criteria for choosing the right food was the following in no particular order:

1. Quality- I love my dogs. They deserve good food. Not only that, a quality food is going to save me money at the vet. The pet food industry has a very wide berth to do what they want. It is not illegal for them to put rotting carcasses into your dog’s food or use the ground up euthanized animals from shelters as filler. Disgusting, I know, but these are standard practices for some of the largest pet food manufacturers.

2. Cost- I’m a dog trainer. What that means is that I enjoy my job but I’m not a rich man. It has to be a good quality but at a fair price.

3. Taste- My dogs have to like it. I have been through tons of dog foods that my dogs just can’t stand.

4. Simplicity- There are a lot of premium dog foods that are great but you can’t find them anywhere. If you are able to get them to special ship the food to your door it costs an arm and a leg.

5. Corporate responsibility- I wanted to make sure that if was recommending a dog food company that they would take care of my clients and that they were constantly innovating to make sure that the food remains quality.

So after an exhaustive search I was finally able to come by a food that I can recommend without hesitation. I recommend it so much that it is the only food I feed my own dogs and I even started selling it on this website. It hit every one of the check marks with no problems at all:

1. This company uses only human grade ingredients. They don’t use chemical preservatives, no fillers, high quality proteins, and the list goes on. Basically, you could eat this food. You probably wouldn’t want to but you could.

2. This food costs more than the commercial dog food I used to feed. It is much more nutritionally dense, however, so I end up feeding my own dogs less than what I would of a commercial food. As a result, I end up paying about $5-$10 more per month to feed this food than I used to with a commercial food. I can live with that.

3. I have recommended this food to the most picky of eaters. So far I’ve got a perfect record, every dog likes the taste of this stuff.

4. This dog food is delivered to your door, provided you live in the lower 48 states. Whenever I order I usually get the food the next day or the day after, provided I didn’t order over the weekend.

5. This company was not involved in the dog food recall. Not only that they offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee on their food. You can get a full refund if you aren’t satisfied. Who does that anymore? Heard enough? I recommend you check it out.

For a healthy skin and coat, pets need the proper nutrition which includes vitamins, minerals, protein, and fat.  A healthy skin and coat is also a good sign that dogs and cats are internally healthy and are getting the right nutrients to make them live a long and happy life.

Understanding skin and coat

The primary purpose of a pet’s coat is to protect the skin, which in turns protects the pet’s body.  Skin and hair keeps things from entering the body which may be harmful for the pet such as bacteria and viruses. It also keeps the pet’s body warm and protects the body from water and heat.  A dog or cat’s coat is composed almost entirely of protein. If your pet’s coat is weak, brittle, and dry, and hair keeps falling out then this may be a sign that your pet is not getting adequate protein in his or her diet.   The pet’s skin, on the other hand, is made of squamous cells—flat cells that are tightly packed together.   Squamous cells are composed of tough membranes that are made of fats and proteins.   When your pet lacks the adequate nutrients, their skin’s cell membranes weaken which allows water to escape. When this happens, it is easy for viruses and bacteria to enter the skin and the body.          

Proteins

Proteins can be found in plants and animal. Proteins found in animals contain all of the essential amino acids that pat cats and dogs need while proteins found in plants may contain only some of the essential amino acids. For optimal health, dogs and cats need animal-based proteins in their diet.  All kinds of meat are rich in proteins. 

Fats

Fats can be found in both plants and animals and are incorporated in skin cells as fatty acids.  For healthy skin and coat, pets need two kinds of essential fatty acids: linoleic acid and arachidonic acid, both categorized as omega-6 fatty acids. Linoleic acid maintains and conditions the skin and coat of dogs and cats. Without adequate lionleic acid, their coat may become cry, dull, and they may experience hair loss. Their skin may also become greasy and prone to skin inflammation.  Arachidonic acid is essential for cats to maintain a normal and healthy skin and coat.  These omega-6 fatty acids can be found in animal tissues such as chicken fat, as well as in vegetable oils such as soybean and corn.  Most commercial cat and dog food already contain the required amounts of omega-6 fatty acids.  The downside of omega-6 fatty acids is that it can be converted to compounds that make the pet’s skin prone to inflammation.   Thus, omega-6 should be balanced with omega-3 fatty acids, which can counter the inflammation. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in the oils of fish and in some plants such as flax and canola.  Research has shown that a healthy ratio of fat sources in a pet’s diet is a five to ten omega-6 fatty acids to one omega-3 fatty acids for a shiny coat and healthy skin.       

Vitamins and minerals

The development of healthy skin and coat in pets also requires adequate vitamins and minerals.   A complete and balanced diet of animal-based and plant-based ingredients will provide all the required daily vitamins and minerals, and is a better than giving your pet supplements.   

As a nation, we claim to love cats and dogs. Millions of households have pets, and billions of dollars are spent yearly on pet supplies and food. But as a nation, we should take a hard, sobering look at a different annual statistic: the millions of dogs and cats given up to shelters or left to die on the streets. And the numbers tell only half the story. Every cat or dog who dies as a result of pet overpopulation—whether humanely in a shelter or by injury, disease, or neglect—is an animal who, more often than not, would have made a wonderful companion, if given the chance. Tremendous as the problem of pet overpopulation is, it can be solved if each of us takes just one small step, starting with not allowing our animals to breed. Here’s information about this crisis and why spaying and neutering is the first step to a solution. Visit www.brightlion.com for more information.

The main difference between caring for a pet in Australia as opposed to the rest of the world is the prevalence of venomous creatures, such as snakes and spiders. Dogs and cats need to play outside and be left unsupervised for at least some of the time. Therefore, there is no sure fire way to completely guard against the possibility of your pet being bitten. Having said this, there are a few things that can be done to minimise the possibility of this happening, as well as a list of procedures that should be followed in a scenario where a bite does occur.

For starters, do not let your pet ruffle around in run-down areas or run into structures that look abandoned. If you hear your pet barking outdoors, always make sure you go out and check to see what it is bothered by. There is a good chance that it may have stumbled upon a snake and in this case, a timely intervention may enable you to prevent a bite from occurring. Lastly, in a scenario where you suspect a bite has occurred, move your pet into a safe area and immediately call the Department of Environment and Conservation snake removal service on 9334 0292 or 9334 0333 for further instructions.

Pookinuk is an Australian company that is committed to giving you access to the highest quality products and services for your pets. You can order all kinds of dog food online including other pet food. Our range of products, apart from advance dog food, Eukanuba dog food and Artemis dog food, also includes pet loo, Eagle Pack and Royal Canin products. We also arrange for the home delivery of dog food. Pookinuk is an Internet-based service provider of premium pet food, pet insurance, pet accessories and even pet furniture. Pet owners who have used Pookinuk services are unanimous in their feedback, namely, “If you love your pet… you’ll love Pookinuk!” For more information, please visit www.pookinuk.com.au

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Being a pet owner is one of the most exciting and fun experience one person can have. Studies even show that owning a pet provides great health benefits. People have different reasons why they want to have the most domesticated animals like a dog or a cat. Most seek the loyal companionship, active playfulness, great comfort or unparalleled joy that they give. To reciprocate all these pleasant things that a pet brings, owners must ensure that they are also able to provide for the various needs of their dogs and cats. There is more to their basic needs. They also need love and affection.

There are 4 important aspects that every owner must look at to ensure proper pet care. These requirements can be greatly supported by pet products specifically made for them.

Pet Grooming

What’s the first thing people notice in a pet? Of course, it’s the look.

Every pet must have proper grooming. Good hygiene must be observed. Regular bathing, clean paws or short claws, and well-combed smooth fur are the most common practices of keeping pets clean and pleasant. Dogs are usually taken to groomers for professional service, but for those who are not willing to spend, dog grooming supplies are available. Why not design a personalized groom shop right inside the house? Get a dog tub, dog shampoos and conditioners, paw-dicure set, etc.

Pet Health

Most pet owners focus on maintaining or improving their pet’s health. Providing nutritious food and complete pet supplements are the usual ways to achieve it. There are a number of food brands containing various minerals, same as the numerous pet meds with different vitamins.

Some pet accessories today have also been designed to benefit pet health. Injured pets can get a lift from pet strollers. Old and arthritic dogs can be relieved of sore joints inside an orthopaedic heated dog beds, and as for cats, there are thermo heated cat sills and mats.

Pet Training

Dogs and cats are two of the most easily trained animals. Some owners even take training very seriously. Some take their pets to training schools, while others do the training themselves. For pet owners who don’t have much time, they usually seek training aids. Petsafe is one of the most reliable names when it comes to dog training collars. Safe and effective, dogs can learn quickly without too much hassle for their owners.

A well-behaved and obedient dog is the result of using a Petsafe dog training collar backed by proper training techniques. Other training aids also include shock collars, bark collars, and beeper collars.

Pet Safety

Another important priority for every owner should be pet safety. Pet owners want to be sure that their favourite four-legged friends are away from harm.

Having a reliable pet containment is the easiest way to keep pets secured.  There are numerous fencing products that can safeguard pets. The wireless dog fence, a Petsafe dog containment is one of the top selling dog fence today. Working on wi-fi technology, protecting pets 24/7, there will be no worries of the dog getting out of the house, or messing the living area, or worse causing trouble and facing accidents somewhere else.

Focusing on these 4 important aspects, pet owners can have the best dogs and cats. Just remember: A well-groomed pet is a key to ensure good health. Healthy pets can have the energy for training and ability to learn. Most of all, safe and secured pets, means happy owners.

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