Filed under: Fuzzy Thoughts, Training & Behavior | Tags: dog parks, frankfort bark park, frankfort parks
Located at Commissioners Park at 80th Avenue and Sauk Trail, the Frankfort Bark Park is a well-maintained, beautiful place to take your dog for a romp. If you have not done so already, get yourself registered for 2012.
Complete the 2012 Registration Packet.
Bring a copy of your dog’s current shot records.
Pay your membership fee. $60/family, Frankfort resident. $65/family, non-resident. (These fees include the $10 key card fee. If you are a current member, bring your 2011 key card when you come in and they will waive this fee.)
Happy frolicking…
Filed under: Food & Nutrition
(source: Modern Dog Magazine)
As pet owners, we love sharing with our furry family members. Time, space, food… you name it.
Here are a few food items you can share with your little imps that will not only tickle their tummies but give them good nutrients, too.
HERRING
Cooked herring is a great source of essential fatty acids. Your dog (and cat’s) skin and coat will love you for this treat!
PASTA
Plain noodles are a fun treat. You can even give them straight from the freezer. Watch flour type and content for those allergy sufferers.
PEPPERMINT
Good for tummy troubles. A little extract can be put in treats for little zip.
CHICKEN BROTH
Keep the sodium low and, if you can, make it at home. Freeze in a Kong or soak an antler in it. Ya-um.
CINNAMON
May have anti-cancer and anti-bacteria properties. We have lots of treats with cinnamon in them.
SPAGHETTI SQUASH
Cooked or raw, wonderful for eyesight.
POMEGRANATE
Juice or the flesh, this beautiful fruit is packed with anti-oxidants.
CHEESE
Calcium and protein abounds and we have yet to find a dog who doesn’t like a bit o’cheese.
TUNA
Add the tuna water to food and even use when you bake treats.
BARLEY GRASS
No, not usually on YOUR table but this is a good treat for then when all you see outside is snow.
Wanna share some other great options? Do so here…
Filed under: Food & Nutrition | Tags: bad food for dogs, foods to avoid, toxic food for dogs
Many of you who shop our store and have asked us food-related questions know that not all table food is off limits to dogs. In fact, there are quite a few foods that are GREAT for your dog (more about that in our next blog). However, there are some foods you should keep away from your precious ones.
GRAPES, RAISINS, CURRANTS
These contain an unknown toxin that can damage the kidneys. Grape seed extract seems to pose no threat.
CAFFEINE
Can be fatal for dogs. “The lethal dose is 150mg/kg of body weight. Instant coffee contains about 60mg of caffeine per teaspoon so you can see how a small dog could suffer from even 2 teaspoons.”
XYLITOL
Common sweetener. Can cause rapid drops in blood sugar and even liver failure.
RAW SALMON
Can contain a micro-organism that causes “salmon poisoning”. Cooking kills this parasite.
RAW YEAST DOUGH
A dog’s stomach is the perfect growth environment for yeast. It can continue to grow causing bloat and even death.
ONIONS
Contain sulfoxides and disulfides, which can damage red blood cells and cause anemia.
ALCOHOL
It should be obvious to most that alcohol is not for our pets; however, it bears repeating. Alcohol causes intoxication, coma, and death.
Stay tuned for great foods to offer your dog to add variety and nutrition to their diet.
Filed under: Breed of the Month
Hailing from Switzerland, the Saint Bernard (aka Alpine Mastiff) has been bred by Bernadine monks for draft and rescue work since the 1600s.
As any Saint Bernard owner will tell you, these gentle giants are loving, loyal, and great with families. They tend to be laid back and moderately easy to train, especially if started at a young age. They aren’t overly protective but are eager to please their family members.
If you are looking for a low-maintenance dog, a Saint Bernard may not be the pup for you. They do need daily physical activity and are attention-loving dogs. While they come in short- and long-coat varieties, all require a good amount of grooming. Their tails and legs are strong and substantial. Their flew on the lower jaw can cause them to be droolers, so it is good to be aware of the potential rag-duty you may need to serve when you take them out to public spaces or other people’s homes.
Because of their size and rapid growth as pups, they can succumb to hip and elbow dysplasia as well as heart, skin, and eye issues. This is one breed where great food can be a life lengthener for sure.
If you are looking for more information on these dogs and to pursue the option of rescuing these amazing dogs, check out http://www.saintrescue.org/illinois.htm
Gotta Saint? Tell us about him or her here!
People come into Chew on This all the time begging for something — ANYTHING — that will withstand the chewnatiousness of their pet. The trick though is deciding if what your pet needs is a toy or a ‘chew’.
For our purposes here, a toy is an object that inspires play, education, and activity to reduce boredom. However, for the voracious chewer, a toy left unattended is not a good option. For the chewer, mom and dad need to look at a toy as an INTERACTIVE object — one that is used for play WITH his owner, not left alone to chew on at will.
It may just be that your dog is not a good candidate for toys as hardy as the toy may be. There are ones out there that are really durable, but no toy is completely indestructible. In this case, an owner needs to find other ways to keep their pet occupied and stimulated or train them how not to chew up a toy. The latter can only be achieved by interacting with a dog so they see the toy as a plaything and not as a snack.
That is not to say that a chew is a solitary option either. Dogs need to be supervised with chews as well, making sure a bully stick, rawhide, or bone is taken away when it gets small enough to fit entirely in their mouth. In addition, a dog should be weened onto raw bones (i.e., give for 5-10 minutes, taken away, for the first few times, gradually increasing time). Remember: frozen raw bones are raw food and all dogs need an acclimation period with raw foods.
So for those of you who are ready to have some fun WITH your pet, here are some hardy options for both toys and chews:
TOYS: West Paw, 5-tooth rated Planet Dog, AussieNaturals, Hugglehounds, Tuffy, MightyDog
CHEWS: Deer antlers, Bare Bones, Braided Bully Sticks, Himalayan Chews, American-made rawhides
Got a favorite toy or chew? Share it here!
Filed under: Breed of the Month
- Rhodesian Ridgeback
Bred first in Southern Africa to hunt lions, Rhodesian Ridgebacks are known for their intelligence, agility, and bravery.
They have a characteristic ‘ridge’ of fur along their spine that grows forward giving it its ridgeback name. The usually have a beautiful light wheaten to red wheaten coat. You can also see that its shoulders and flank resemble those of a Dalmation.
While they helped hunters on lion hunts, they did not, themselves, take down lions. Rather, they were skilled at distracting the beasts while its master took aim. Usually they were sent out in two’s or three’s and worked well together at confusing and goading lions. Now, besides being wonderful dogs in the home, Rhodesian Ridgebacks are used to help train athletes.
That being said, Ridgebacks are best suited to owners who have experience with consistent discipline and training. Ridgebacks are very loyal and extremely intelligent. Sometimes this can come across as disliking strangers but really they are just prone to taking in newcomers and are rarely aggressive. However, as we said before, they need consistent feedback and structure. They can be very loving dogs.
Filed under: Food & Nutrition
Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum)
At Chew on This Dog Barkery, we are always learning more about the products we offer and products we SHOULD be offering. Recently, we added Milk Thistle to our line up of supplements to provide our customers with a product that will help dogs with allergies and digestive issues.
Milk Thistle, or Silymarin, is a powerful antioxidant. It is a natural support for the liver, helping to not only eliminate toxins but also to help regenerate liver tissue. It is ideal for dogs going through chemotherapy or just needing to flush their system of other allergens.
Another great time to use milk thistle is post-vaccination. It is a great source of free radical scavengers and it helps to preserve the supply of glutathione, another important protein that naturally declines over time. This protein’s depletion can speed up the aging process.
Milk thistle is a gentle, herbal aid for all kinds of dogs. If you decide to give this a try, be sure to choose a supplier that makes a quality product, using not only organically harvested thistle but also has an excellent reputation for consistent herbal remedy production. We carry Herbsmith Milk Thistle but can also recommend a few other brands if you would like to try them.
Filed under: Cat Stuff
more from Dr. Karen Becker…
This week we look at Urine Spraying as the reason for cats not using their litter box.
Urine Spraying
Some cats spray an area outside the litter box to ‘mark’ it. If your cat’s doing this, he’s not technically relieving himself – he’s sending a message, usually to other kitties in the vicinity.
Spraying is accomplished by backing up to a vertical surface like a wall and urinating while standing.
Most people associate this activity with tomcats, and while it’s true neutered males are much less likely to mark their territory than their intact counterparts, about ten percent of neutered males and five percent of spayed females will spray at some point.
It’s assumed by behaviorists kitties spray to keep other cats away from their domain. So if you’re suddenly discovering yellow stains on walls, baseboards, window coverings or furniture, you need to figure out what your cat’s reacting to.
It could be another cat in the household, especially if the other kitty is a recent addition to the family. It could also be the sight, sound or smell of cats outside your home that your kitty has become aware of.
Tips for dealing with spraying behavior:
- Minimize exposure to other cats. (This is obviously much easier to accomplish if the problem is a neighbor cat and not another feline in your household.) Close the blinds if your cat is seeing other cats in his yard. Relocate his window perch or the piece of furniture he sits on to watch the offending cats outside.
Thoroughly clean the areas your cat has sprayed with an enzymatic solution that discourages re-soiling.
Put something your cat won’t want to walk on, such as two-sided tape, aluminum foil or a plastic carpet runner turned spiky side up along the sprayed areas to discourage kitty from getting close enough to spray.
Provide your cat with something stimulating to watch like kitty videos or a bird feeder placed outside, but well away from the areas of your yard neighborhood cats frequent.
Consider investing in a pheromone product like Feliway® to help curb spraying behavior.
Minimize changes to your cat’s routine and environment. Stress can trigger spraying behavior.
Talk to your holistic or integrative vet about other safe alternatives for de-stressing your kitty, including calming flower essences, herbs, amino acids, homeopathic remedies and nutraceuticals.
Litter Box Issues
A third possible reason your cat may relieve herself outside her box is that she isn’t comfortable using it. She may dislike its location, the type of litter, or the size of the box. If you’ve made a change to any of those three things recently, it could be what’s behind your kitty’s sudden change in elimination behavior.
Some general guidelines:
- The placement of the litter box should be in a relatively quiet, low traffic area of the house where there’s little chance of interruption while she’s using the box.
Research indicates kitties prefer large litter boxes to small ones, and many cat parents have been able to resolve outside-the-box soiling by simply investing in a larger litter box.
If you have a multi-cat household, you should have a minimum of one box per cat.
Research suggests the majority of cats favor unscented, clumping litter. If that’s not the type you use, I recommend giving it a try to see if your kitty prefers it.
Cleanliness of the box is also very important, as kitties are fastidious creatures and are offended by dirty litter. I recommend twice a day scooping of all feces and urine clumps, and weekly disposal of all used litter.
It’s important to wash the box thoroughly after dumping the used litter to remove as much odor as possible. Use plain hot water. If you use soap, choose a natural, fragrance free variety. Avoid any cleaning product that is scented or contains potential toxins.
Keep in mind these are simply guidelines, and even if studies indicate the majority of cats prefer this or that, your feline companion may have her own unique preferences when it comes to her bathroom design.
Please Don’t Make a Bad Situation Worse!
If your cat suddenly starts relieving himself where he shouldn’t instead of where he should, try to remember there’s a reason for the behavior. The reason may not make sense to you, but it does to your cat, and now is a good time to remember he is, after all, a different species! Your pet needs your help to find the cause of his behavior and fix the problem.
Under no circumstances should you ever punish a cat for improper elimination. The first order of business is to get him to the vet to either rule out a health problem or uncover one and get him the help he needs to feel better. Punishing a sick cat won’t resolve the issue and is certainly not something a concerned, loving pet parent should ever do.
Next on the list is to make sure his bathroom suits him by focusing on the location and size of his litter box and the type of litter in the box. Imagine if you were forced to relieve yourself in a dirty, cramped or unnatural spot, with activity swirling around you. Then imagine being punished for finding a more suitable location for yourself. Work with your cat, not against him, to help him be comfortable with his potty area.
If your cat is marking his territory rather than relieving himself outside his box, you’ll need to figure out what’s provoking the behavior and take steps to extinguish it. If you’re not able to handle the situation on your own, consult your holistic or integrative vet or a board certified animal behaviorist.
<script type=”text/javascript” src=”http://healthypets.mercola.com/js/citation-hp.js” > </script>
Filed under: Cat Stuff
from Dr. Karen Becker, holistic veterinarian:
One of the reasons most cats are so easy to potty train to a litter box is because their natural instinct is to eliminate in a substrate (earthy material) that allows them to bury their urine and feces.
Your kitty’s ancestors were African wildcats — the desert was their cat box. Modern-day felines probably gravitate to litter because it’s the closest substrate to sand they can find inside a house.
It’s also the nature of cats to bury their feces in their urine, and in the wild, wet desert sand fit the bill. This is likely why most domesticated kitties prefer clumping litter to other varieties.
Since it’s entirely natural for Fluffy to seek out her litter box to eliminate in, you should assume something is up when she chooses another location to do her business.
And I caution you not to jump to the conclusion your favorite feline has suddenly developed anger issues or an attitude problem. There’s a reason for your pet’s behavior and she’s counting on you to help her sort it out.
Rule Out a Health Problem First
Urinating outside the litter box is one of the primary symptoms of the most common kitty disorder, Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD). Other signs your cat might have this problem include:
- Frequent or prolonged attempts to urinate
Straining to urinate
Crying out while urinating
Blood in the urine
Excessive licking of the genital area
Also known as feline urologic syndrome (FUS), FLUTD is actually a group of conditions, any of which can affect your cat’s bladder or urethra, including cystitis (inflammation of the bladder), urinary tract infections, urinary stones, urethral plugs, cancer and other disorders.
Any kitty can develop a lower urinary tract disorder, but it’s most commonly seen in cats that:
- Are middle-aged
Use an indoor litter box exclusively
Are fed a dry food diet
Don’t get enough exercise and are overweight
Are stressed by their environment
If you suspect your cat might have a lower urinary tract infection, it’s important to make an appointment with your veterinarian. The only way to find out if the litter box problem is really a medical problem is to have your vet test a urine sample. This is a critical first step to addressing inappropriate urination.
If your pet isn’t passing urine, a situation more commonly seen in males than females but can happen to either sex, this is a life-threatening medical emergency and you should seek immediate care. Once a kitty’s urethra is completely blocked, the kidneys can no longer do their job. This can lead to uremia, a ruptured bladder, as well as organ failure and death within just a day or two.
Preventing Lower Urinary Tract Disease
I strongly encourage all my cat owner clients — especially those whose kitties have experienced urinary tract disorders – to avoid feeding dry food (kibble).
Dry pet foods contain neither the high quality protein nor the moisture content your cat needs for optimal health. If your kitty lived in the wild, her natural diet (prey) would be about 70 percent water. Dry food is from five to 12 percent water.
Cats have a low thirst drive. Nature intended them to get most of the water their bodies need from food sources. Your kitty simply can’t make up the water deficit from a kibble diet at her water bowl.
Your cat should be eating species-appropriate canned or raw food. For cats, this means grain-free food (no corn, wheat or rice that can greatly alter urine pH). Learn how to transition your kitty to a healthy, balanced diet here. The quality of the canned food is also very important.
Tragically, lots of kitties with FLUTD-related disorders wind up at the local shelter rather than at the vet’s office because their owners mistake a manageable medical condition for a stubborn behavioral problem.
Remember – your cat is wired to be stoic no matter how he’s feeling. As a result, it can be hard to tell when he’s sick. Very often the only clue you’ll have of a problem with your kitty’s health is a change in his behavior, so your first move should be to make an appointment with an integrative or holistic veterinarian.
more next week…
<script type=”text/javascript” src=”http://healthypets.mercola.com/js/citation-hp.js” > </script>
Filed under: Breed of the Month
Yorkshire Terriers, aka Yorkies, are named for the city from which they hail: Yorkshire, England. In the nineteenth century, terriers were used as ratters, finding and ridding industrial buildings of pests and vermin. True to their breed, yorkies are curious, brave, and can have a will much stronger than their 5 to 7 pound frame would belie.
Is a Yorkshire Terrier the Right Dog for You?
Yorkies adapt easily to many different environments. They are extremely portable given their petite size and need only a limited amount of exercise. However, these little terriers need their people time so make sure you have lots of that to give these loving and attentive little dogs.
Got a Yorkie? Share your experience here!
