2008 May | NaturalDogTreatRecipes

May 26

How Sweet it is!

The Straight Buzz on What’s Good about HONEY

There has been a lot of press in the world of natural healers and the word that keeps coming up is HONEY. Were you aware that honey has natural antioxidant properties?

Studies in New Zealand have found that the acidity of honey is significantly low and may even prevent the development of numerous bacteria. Honey has also been found to have absorbant properties and when placed inside of a wound, the area is depleted of the bacteria from moisture that is required for it to survive.

When diluted by fluids from a wound, an enzyme is triggered that causes the production of hydrogen peroxide, which is an important antibacterial agent. Honey also has antiinflammatory qualities and soothes painful burns.

There are a wide variety of honeys, produced from flowers and herbs such as orange blossom, sage, buckwheat, clover, blackberry and wildflower. Generally, the darker the color of the honey, the higher its antioxidant and flavanoid properties.

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May 18

Feeding your Aged Canine Companion

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Dog Nutrition: Preparing proper nutrition for the senior citizen dog

It is only common sense that our pet dogs should be put on a steady diet of high quality dog nutrition. Many dog owners seem to think that just because they are animals and not people that “anything goes” when it comes to feeding them. These dog owners are missing the importance of solid healthy dog nutrition.

Practicing such poor dog nutrition habits for your lovably pet can have serious effects on his health, energy, stamina, and overall sense of alertness. This is especially true of older dogs that have hit their “senior citizen” years and are in need of better, more targeted dog nutrition.

As your dog is getting older and the rapid aging changes are taking place, it is time to start adjusting his diet. It is always wise to consult your veterinarian before making any sharp changes in your pet’s dog nutrition. In addition, you should take a part in as much thorough research as possible on the subject of older dog nutrition.

To get you started with some basic information of dog nutrition as your dog gets older, we will give you some practices to look forward to. For example, you will be gradually changing up the amount of food that you are feeding your older dog. You will also be changing up the number of times that feeding will take place.

There are many instances where dogs that have hit their aging years will develop a poor appetite. Their digestion will be a lot less capable of operating smoothly. One good habit you should start immediately with dog nutrition is to start feeding them very small meals throughout the day. This will help stimulate your dog’s appetite as well as ease digestion.

When it comes to dog nutrition for the aging dog, many leading experts in this area recommend that you invest into a dry food that is specially formulated for older dogs. Do not worry about having to search high and low for such a product because most pet food stores carry brands that cater to this dog nutrition need. If you do have trouble then check with your veterinarian. She will have some suggestions for you to shop at.

Last but not least, you must pay attention to the fact that your dog’s absorption of vitamins and minerals will decrease with age. In this case, there are vitamin and mineral supplements that are specially formulated for your dog nutrition needs. Your veterinarian should be able to suggest the best supplement for your dog when it comes to these vitamins and minerals. They may include zinc, vitamin B, and calcium.

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May 09

Your Dog Needs a New Diet

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How To Change A Dog’s Diet

There are five basic steps when it comes to changing your dog’s diet. They are as follows:

Step 1: lf a dog is in a new environment, has a new owner, or is being required to undergo some other emotional or physical strain, food changes should be postponed until the stress has been eliminated or the dog has adapted to it. With changes in ownership, the diet fed by the previous owner should be obtained if at all possible and fed until the dog becomes accustomed to its new surroundings.

Step 2: Once the dog is in a proper emotional state to accept a dietary change it should be accomplished without delay. Start by substituting 25 percent of the old food with new food. Mix the two thoroughly making every attempt to conceal the new food within the old. This mixture should be fed until the dog eats the mixture with the same relish that it ate its previous food. For some dogs this may be the first time the mixture is fed; for others it may take several days or even weeks. Don’t hurry the procedure. After all, the dog may have had 24 months to get accustomed to its old diet. Don’t expect it to change all of that in just 24 hours. Once the dog is eating the 25:75 mixture as well as it did its previous food, proceed to step three

Step 3: During the third step, 50 percent of the old food is replaced by new food and slightly less effort is made to conceal it within the old food. Again, when the dog is eating the 50:50 mixture with the same gusto it did its previous food, proceed to step four.

Step 4: Now 75 percent of the new food is present in the mixture being fed, and little if any effort is made to conceal the new food except to mix it evenly with the ordinal food. By now, most dogs will readily accept the increased mixture the first time it is fed. If the dog accepted the 50:50 mixture at the first feeding, step four can be eliminated and you can proceed directly to step five.

Step 5: This is the final step, the one in which all of the old food is eliminated from the dog’s diet. One hundred percent of the new food is fed from then on. For some dogs this procedure may take only three days and require only steps two, three and five. For others it may take longer and must progress through each step separately. Do not become discouraged. With dogs, food likes and dislikes are mostly learned from previous experiences. Changing a food is a process of unlearning and relearning, and such things cannot be hurried.

The third general consideration that should be made by all dog feeders any time they feed a dog has more to do with human behavior than it does with a dog’s.

Read A Weighty Issue for Dogs.

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May 03

Dog Food Styles

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Dog Food: Five Types of Commercial Dog Food to Consider

Just a few years ago, feeding your dog was so much simpler compared to today’s nutritional advice. I remember when my parent’s dog ate whatever the whole family would eat, including dessert! In addition to table scraps, he also ate commercial dog food. That dog had a happy life and lived well into his mid-teens without contracting any serious illness or disease.

Picking a commercial dog food was also easy back then. There were only a handful of brands to choose from and these pet foods all had practically the same ingredients, only varying in color and flavor.

Nowadays, there are so many varieties to choose from. Below is a list of some of the popular commercial foods available for your dog:

Organic Dog Food

Most dog food products found in the market today contain pesticides and other chemicals. If you want to give your dog food that is free of these chemicals, consider organic dog food. However, the term “organic” can be misleading, so read the ingredients carefully before making your purchase.

No Preservative or Natural Preservative Dog Food

Most dog foods contain preservatives in the form of artificial chemicals such as ethoxyquin, BHT, and BHA. These are added for two reasons: To prevent the food from spoiling and keep the taste lasting longer. Some dog foods, however, have natural preservatives like vitamin C (often listed as ascorbic acid) and vitamin E (often listed as tocopherols).

Before you buy a dog food with natural preservatives, be sure to read the ingredients first to make sure that the preservatives are actually derived from nature instead of it being artificially synthesized.

You may also buy dog foods that are free of any kind of preservatives. These products must be properly sealed in a cool, dry, bug-free place and used promptly to assure freshness.

Vegetarian Dog Food

Vegetarian dog foods allow vegetarian dog owners to exercise their dietary beliefs with their dogs. These foods contain all of the necessary vitamins and nutrients that your pet needs, so long as they are properly made. A vegetarian diet is also beneficial for dogs that are allergic to meat.

Raw Dog Food

Many dog owners believe that a diet of raw food is the healthiest way to feed their pet because this is the way wolves and other wild dog species ate. This belief has no scientific facts to value its accuracy. However, a diet of raw food can expose both you and your pet to dangerous bacteria such as salmonella and E. coli.

Therapeutic Dog Food

Therapeutic dog foods, along with necessary medical care, have been the growing trend in dog food products today. It is only available through a veterinarian and is usually prescribed for cases of preventive treatment, as an after-surgery diet, or for certain health problems like food allergies.

Find great information at Your Dollars and Dog Food.

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