I am moving to South Africa. Looking for Orijen Dog Food.?
I realised after googling that Orijen brand is not found in South Africa. Does anyone know of any online shipping that ships Orijen to South Africa (Cape Town) at a reasonable price?? Or free shipping
http://www.doggiefood.com/orijen
you can try this just do a google search or maybe a friend that will ship it to you once month.
Why you going my sister and bro-n-law just moved from there! It is beautiful.
Active dogs, like herding, sporting and working breeds, need more exercise than a walk can provide. Some owners of such dog breeds take their pets with them when they jog. This offers good exercise for the dog, but has to be done safely.
To begin with, first bring your dog to a veterinarian for a complete checkup to ensure that the dog is healthy. Dogs may appear healthy on the outside, when in fact they may sometimes have physical problems that you may not be aware of. Elbow or hip dysplasia, for instance, may worsen with strenuous exercise, and younger and older dogs may get injured from all the running. A thorough checkup will make sure whether your dog’s all right and fit to jog.
Next, refresh your dog’s memory with regards to obedience training. Make sure the dog will walk and jog only at your side. Don’t let him pull on the leash by running ahead, as it will give him sore neck and shoulder muscles, in addition to making the jog stressful instead of enjoyable for you. If you let him pull at the leash, you’ll end up having straining yourself and suffer less control over your dog. Make sure the dog runs on your side in a nice heel position, with neck and shoulders by your leg. If you have a hard time teaching your dog this position, ask help from an obedience instructor.
Start the jog gradually, especially if either you or your dog is a couch potato. Too much exercise too soon will result in sore muscles for both of you. Initially, you may alternate walking and jogging – Jog one block, walk the next, then jog the one after. Maintain a slower speed and shorter distance until you and your dog are comfortable with both, then gradually increase the distance in subsequent jogs.
It’s safer to jog on softer surfaces than on concrete, because repeated jarring on concrete can damage bones and joints. Asphalt is a much better jogging surface – just don’t jog on asphalt baked under the sun, or your dog would much rather stay home. In general, grass and sand is also a good surface to run on for both of you. Just watch out for ruts or holes to prevent both of you from tripping and hurting yourselves.
After jogging, look at your dog’s paws. See if his foot pads become cut, scraped, burned, or bruised during the jog. Such injuries heal on their own fairly quickly, but you still need to keep his foot pads clean and dry, as well as let your dog stay home until they heal. If walking is painful for your dog and his foot pads are visibly cut or badly burned, take him to his veterinarian.
Jogging constitutes a great cardiovascular workout for you and your dog. It builds stamina, strengthens resistance against illness, and relieves accumulated stress (yours from work, his from boredom). Once you find a good, safe route to run, your dog will be begging to tag along when he sees you put on those running shoes.
I don’t mind losing 5 measley points if it’s going to save a dog or cat’s life
Menu Foods, the largest maker of WET pet foods has just announced a massive recall. This company makes pet foods for WalMart, Costco, Sams, Safeway, SuperValu, President’s Choice, just about any grocery store you buy your pet’s food in. The recall covers all of Canada, United States and Mexico. Check out the URL below to see if your fuzzy friend’s dinner is on the recall list. Be warned, it’s a huge list.
http://www.menufoods.com/recall
I work for a holistic veterinarian and we would not tell any of our client that IAMS or Eukanuba were good brands of food. When people ask me why, first I tell them read the ingredients. First thing on the list (dry formula) is corn or wheat then something else then possibly a meat “By product”. Do you know what a by product is? When you go to the bathroom, thats a by product. Ok maybe a little extreme. A by product are all the parts that ordinarlly get theown away in human meat companies. This includes head, feathers intestines, hooves etc. My question then is this what you really want to feed your pet? Most of us look at our pets as a part of our family so would you eat that stuff? When researching a pet food look at the ingredients. The first 3 or at least first 2 ingredients should be a meat, Chicken lamb or beef. Just the word of the meat. Also another is meat meal such as Lamb meal or chicken meal, this is actual meat with all the liquid removed and made into a powder. Of course real meat is best. Pet food companies have to list in order of what is most in their food so if corn is first on the list and a meat is 3rd then this food is made up of moslty grain. Dogs need protein too. Another thing to watch out for are chemical additives. Look for natural tocopherols or fats as preservatives. Stay away from BHA BHT nitrites and chemical additives other than natural vitamins. I have a list that I know to be human grade meats without chemical additives. Most of these brands can be found in most small non chain pet stores.
Artemis Holistic
Canidae/Felidae
Eagle Pack
Innova
Merrick
Natural Life
Petguard
Precise
It is also best to feed your pets canned rather than dry. Another food which are good are Steve’s Raw and Bravo. It is ok and the best way to feed you pet is home cooked. Although be advised that different things need to be supplement to a home cook diet for your pet such as fatty acids and bone meal and other things. Best to find a vet in your area that can give you a good fortefied recipe to a suitable diet that is well balanced and fully nutritional. I hope I have helped a few with questions. Bye
People tend to think that commercial dog food, especially if it has been recommended by their veterinarian is of good quality and is giving your dog the best chance in life. Right?
Wrong!
While vets should be the best people to advise about dog food, sadly they’re not. Why? Because the top commercial pet food manufacturers now financially contribute to many veterinary schools. They have a foot in the door. They can, and do, influence the students.
After all you generally don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
In most countries of the world, there are, at least some basic laws governing the quality of human food, whether it’s fresh produce, meat or fast food.
In no country are there laws (which are enforced) that insist commercial pet food manufacturers use quality ingredients. That means anything can, and does, go.
After all, if meat is of good quality, wouldn’t you sell it to the highest market – the human market? So, it’s only the poorest quality meat, more often meat by-products (such as hair, intestines and contents, chicken feet, brain, skin, grizzle, fat, etc) that goes for dog food.
This means that the overall nutrient quality is as poor as it gets, as different proteins have different nutritional absorbability.
Pet food is always bulked out with inert (or not as the melamine scam from China testifies) filler. Typically, this filler will be the current cheapest carbohydrate. There’s often a world glut of something, driving down the price. It may be sugar one year, wheat the next.
Do you think the addition of sugar into your dog’s diet will serve to improve his health?
Why do you think that diabetes in dogs is on the increase?
Dogs may bulk out their food in the wild, but it would be on fresh plant matter that’s available, such as fruit or leaves.
Cooking destroys many vitamins and enzymes which are critical to the overall health of your dog.
As most dog food is dried pellets, which keep indefinitely at room temperature, preservatives must be used. Some manufacturers claim they have not added preservatives. Look carefully at the wording. They did not add it. This may be true. But preservatives will always have been added to the meat before it was delivered to the manufacturers.
It’s impossible to keep meat products at room temperature indefinitely without the use of strong preservatives. Preservatives that would never be allowed in human food, because of their poisonous effect.
So your dog may be well fed as far as volume is concerned, but will be starving for quality food. How can your dog remain healthy if he’s fed garbage?
Most people would be appalled at the process that goes into the making of commercial pet food. That would be a really good incentive not to feed it. I’m attempting to give you a glimpse behind the scenes, so you can give your dog the best dog food available within your budget and within your time available.
Every talk show, news station, radio station are talking dog today? Good Morning America talking-adoption, dog health, Bonny Hunt–Pit Bull rescue. The view talking a Mutt dog show and of course Stump the beautiful winner of Westminster.
Wouldn’t be great for them to give just 5 minutes weekly to promote Rescue, adoption, responsible breeding?
Do you hope Stump will follow in Uno’s paw prints in making the news all year long?
where we lived in NH, the local shelter had a 1/2 hr on channel 3, 3 times a week to highlight their adoptable cats and dogs. i knew a number of people that found their new family members that way.
The Web-DVM 11-19-2009: How to clean dog/cats ears & prevent ear infections.
Short-shorts contest ends and judging begins
Short-shorts contest ends and judging begins By Marge Barrett | Monday, Dec. 21, 2009 Our first ever short-shorts contest ended Friday. Winners will be announced on Monday, Jan. 11. Dog Food Quality: Nutritionally Inadequate Dog Food
When a dog has skin problems, we rarely suspect these as food allergies or sensitivities. As most dogs keep eating the same type of dog food for years, the food usually escapes our radar as the problem. But dogs, like humans, can develop sensitivity to any food or additive at any time. Recent estimates indicate that 10 to 15 percent of all allergic skin diseases in dogs are caused by food allergy. In such cases, they should be given allergy dog food, i.e., food that does not cause allergic reactions.
As dog food is made up of a combination of ingredients, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly which is causing the allergy. The most common ingredients that can cause problems in a dog include beef, chicken, corn, eggs, fish, lamb, milk, preservatives, pork, soy, wheat, and whey.
The primary symptom that appears in a dog having food allergy is itchy skin.
Other symptoms may include anal itching, ear inflammations, hair loss, licking front paws, loss of appetite, face rubbing, and head shaking. Sometimes asthma-like symptoms, behavioral changes, diarrhea, flatulence, seizures, sneezing, and vomiting can also be observed.
When you conclude after consultations with your veterinarian, that food may be the underlying cause of your dog’s allergy, then you can begin an elimination diet. Discard all the foods in the dog’s diet that are included in the list above, and give him/her allergy dog food, which may be a commercial or homemade diet comprising ingredients the dog has never eaten before.
The homemade allergy dog food should comprise two parts starch and one part protein. Duck, salmon, soy, venison, and rabbit may form the protein part, and rice and potatoes the starch, but soy and rice cannot be always called safe substitutes. Some animal medical centers recommend duck and potato based foods as allergy dog food.
You can also choose a special commercial food blends as allergy dog food. As the homemade food is not nutritionally complete, it should not be continued for more than 8 weeks.
Whatever allergy dog food you choose for your pet, it should be the only food the dog ingests during the elimination period. So, say adieu to table scraps, dog biscuits, dog bones, rawhide chews, vitamins, minerals or chewable heartworm pills.
If symptoms improve during the elimination period, you can reintroduce each of the eliminated food items one at a time. Each food should be tested for a week before another is introduced. This will help you to pinpoint which foods may be causing problems if symptoms resurface. And once you detect the offensive food, it will be easier for you to choose the right allergy dog food to keep your pet free from allergy.
If you’re tired of looking at the dirty old dog crate in the corner of your living room and want to do something about it but you’re just not sure what, then you may want to consider looking into the different types of dog crate covers available on the market. Dog crate covers are a great way of tidying up your old crate and making it look fresh and new again.
Dog crate covers are available in just about any color you can imagine. Red, white, pink, tan, blue brown, you name it, you can get it. They’ve become quite popular over the years so there are plenty of places you can go to purchase them. Or if you don’t want to buy dog crate covers, you could even make them on your own with a little skill and the right materials. You might even be able to save some money if you did it this way.
So what is the purpose of dog crate covers? Well, I’ve already explained that one purpose is to help clean up that dirty old dog crate you’ve got stored in the corner of your living room. It will help make it more visually appealing and not such an eye sore. Another purpose for the dog crate cover is to provide privacy for your puppy, which will also help relieve stress and reduce barking caused by distractions that occur outside the crate will your dog is inside the crate.
So the dog crate covers have a number of different purposes which include providing a little touch of class and a better appearance for your old worn out dog cage, and the other is to provide privacy and seclusion for the well being of your puppy or dog. The next time you see that old crate and consider tossing it out, perhaps you’ll want to pick up some dog crate covers to help bring it back to life.
