So What Does a Petsitter Do?

Recently someone in the community was raving about the place they take their dog to board and saying that using a petsitter just isn't for them because.. "..he needs more attention then someone just to come in let him out for potty, feed and water him maybe play for a few minutes then leave."  The person later stated this is just what they perceive petsitters to do, when it doesn't appear they have ever used a petsitter before.  Though this comment wasn't directed at me, when I read it I certainly took offense.  What do people perceive petsitters to do then??

Not all petsitters create themselves equal.  There are those who do it on the side for extra income and there are those like me who do this full-time.  There are those like me who invest in their business and invest in the pets they take care of and purchase insurance, and those who do not. There are those who either have background knowledge (like I am a former vet tech) or further themselves by getting pet CPR trained etc, and those who do not. Et cetera, et cetera...

So here's an idea of what I do during the busy season (Thanksgiving-New Years).  I'm currently working 6 weeks straight with out of town families and my normal dog walks/runs/visits.  During this current 6 week stretch, there were many many days where I was leaving the house for the day while it was still dark out.  I'd go to 2-4 homes back to back to do the first visit of the day, letting dogs out for potty, feeding breakfast to everyone, giving medications, rolling garbage cans out to the curb, cleaning litter boxes etc.  Then I might do some of my own errands while I was in town (we live 20 minutes out of town so grocery trips are at the tail-end of my morning visits). I come home for 2 hours then I go back out if someone is needing a lunch visit, or a lunch dog-walk.  The come back home for 2 hours, make my husband's lunch because he works a swing-shift and leaves for work around 3pm. Then I go back out again for some dinner visits, bring in garbage cans, collect mail.. and the sun has already set behind the mountains by the time I get home.  I'll get a few more hours at home in the evening and then go back out around 8pm-9pm to do some end-of-the-night potty/bedtime visits.  Often times when I am home, I'm following up on emails with pet parents or researching different ideas to help a leash-puller, or maybe on the phone with a pet parent who needs some advice.

I don't believe in bare-minimum... if a client wants me to visit their cats 3x a day, I do it! Some dogs get visits 4x a day, some dogs get walks tacked onto their petsitting visits to help work out the wiggles while their families are away.  There's usually a fair amount of cleaning up I do too, if a dog tears apart a toy, or spills a water dish, or cleaning up used potty pads, scooping up poops in the yard... there's always something to clean.  Lights are rotated to give the lived-in appearance, packages are brought inside, newspapers are collected.  Belly rubs are handed out one by one, I go out into the yard with dogs to play with them during the day and at night in case there are owls hoping for a small canine meal.  Sometimes I bring over my own homegrown catnip to the cats that like it and sometimes (pretty often) I'm laying on the floor next to a cat or dog giving them some lovies.

During these busy times, petsitters sacrifice a lot.  We work over holidays, unable to see friends and family.  One of our own dogs started acting out because he wasn't getting the attention he normally gets.  My poor husband doesn't get a decent home cooked meal while I'm this busy, but he understands.  The farm chores all get postponed for a few weeks until I have the time and energy to start prepping garden beds for the next year.  I also get a lot of joy from giving away at least half of our garden produce every year, some of my pet parents that I see on a consistent basis get to enjoy our organic locally grown produce.

I do consider petsitting a labor of love.  I really do love helping people out and being someone they can rely on to take care of their pets and homes.  A very large amount of money I earn goes straight back into my car for gas, extra oil changes, and needing tires replaced sooner than the average person.  It also goes towards my insurance that I purchase every year, which protects the pets and homes I watch (most boarding places refuse insurance and instead make you sign a liability form).

So yeah, I take offense when someone says petsitters only take care of pets for a few minutes.

Review: Kyjen Slo-bowl

I purchased the Kyjen Slo Bowl 2 months ago after our American Staffordshire, Sarge, had gotten to the point of eating his food too fast.  He was finishing 1.5 cups of food within 45 seconds and that was just too quickly for my peace of mind.  Having been a vet tech for a number of years and seeing my share of emergency visits of dog's who were bloating (gastric dialation and vovulus syndrome),  I will prevent bloat in any way I can.

Slow-feeding bowls have been around for years and the designs keep getting better and better.  I have heard of people using tennis balls or a large rock in their dog's food bowl, but in our case Sarge is tennis-ball OBSESSED and I think putting any non-edible object in a dog's food bowl is irresponsible.  Why not invest $10 in a bowl specifically designed to slow them down and possibly save their life?

We've had the Kyjen Slo-bowl for 8 weeks now and Sarge's 45 second meal has now turned into 4 minutes!  Success!  When we first started using the bowl, meal time was closer to 5 minutes but I expected the time would speed up a little after Sarge got used to eating around the obstacle course.   What I like most about this specific design is that you can contain all the food right in the middle of the bowl, or really spread it out allowing for a much longer meal.  During meal time, the bowl does get pushed around a few inches, but surprisingly moves much less than his previous bowl which had a rubber ring on the bottom to help prevent wayward bowls.  These bowls are also top-rack dishwasher safe and BPA-free!  This particular one is said to hold up to 5 cups of kibble, but these bowls do come in smaller sizes as well, so I would check all shapes and sizes out to pick one that would suit your pet's needs best.  One of my pet parent's has the Flower bowl and even has hers elevated on top of a milk crate.  These bowls are larger, but can still be placed on top of a bin or stool if you are wanting to elevate it.

I ordered mine through Amazon for only $10, and you can choose from the different bowl shapes and sizes.  Overall, I would definitely recommend the Kyjen Slo-bowls and would certainly get one again if needed.  If your dog is a hungry hippo, check these out!

Desert Dangers: Sonoran Desert Toad

The Sonoran Desert Toad is also known as the Colorado River Toad. Because we're located in the Sonoran Desert, I will refer to it as such :)  This toxic toad doesn't get the same amount of attention as the rattlesnakes we have.  They can both easily kill an animal, but snakes always instill much more fear into us humans :)  For starters, the Sonoran Desert Toad lives primarily in central and southern Arizona and extend south into Mexico. They creep into parts of southern California and New Mexico, but the areas are very limited.  The toads are active May-September but primarily during monsoon season, and are mostly nocturnal

Now if you see a toad during monsoon, don't automatically assume it's a toxic Sonoran Desert Toad.  We have a handful of toads in southern Arizona and it's important to learn the distinguishing characteristics of toxic toads.  Just because they are toxic doesn't mean you should go running in the opposite direction, you can safely get close enough to decide if it is a toxic toad.  Sonoran Desert toads are NOT slimy - their toxins are merely secreted through glands on their body when they are threatened.  The distinguishing characteristics of Sonoran Desert Toads are: 1) Large prominent parotoid glands behind each eye and 2) a white wart at the corner of the mouth.  Often, you can even see more parotoid glands on their back legs.  The parotoid glands are what secrete the toxins.  If you do a google search for Sonoran Desert Toads, you can become familiar with what the parotoid glands and white warts look like.  The actual colors of the toad's skin can vary greatly, so color and skin smoothness are not a great determining factor.

Because our dogs and cats are curious creatures, they often bat at or mouth a toad trying to play with it.  The toxins are strong enough to kill a dog but if you act quickly you can save your dog's life!  (I'm focusing this on dog's since they are usually more mouthy than cats).  If your dog encounters a toad and licks it or picks it up in their mouth, the best thing you can do is get your dog to the hose and gently spray/rinse their mouth out from the SIDE of the mouth - not directly into the mouth.  The hose does not need to be at fire-hose pressure, so there's no need to turn it on all the way.  Make sure their head is tilted down or to the side so water can drain.  They will foam at the mouth and heavily salivate as a reaction to the toxins, so do not panic but continue to rinse their mouth with a steady flow of water, allowing it to drain out of their mouth.  Continually rinse the mouth out for at least 10 minutes.  You also want to rinse away any foam or excess saliva from their gums during the rinsing process.  After this (or during, if someone else is around) call your vet and if they're not available call your local emergency vet.  They will be able to further instruct you if they feel your dog should still come in for monitoring.  Sometimes during these toxicities, your dog's temperature can sky rocket upwards of 105*F so it's always good to call a vet no matter what.

Similar to rattlesnake avoidance training, there is also toad avoidance training for those extra curious pooches.  Call around for trainers or ask your veterinarian who they recommend.  Most important of all, stay calm cool and collected if your dog encounters one :)

For more reading visit these links:

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Southern Arizona Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center

Reptiles and Amphibians of Arizona

Wikipedia

Catios, and Why They're Awesome!

8 months ago we didn't have any furry kids of the feline persuasion and now we have 3!  Right before Christmas we adopted a Mom cat and her juvenile son.  Mom had a few liters of kittens before a friend of mine took her in and got her spayed and adopted the last liter out.  Once the kittens all found homes at a proper age (I think she waited 8-10 weeks), I adopted Mom and her son and renamed them Nova and Naveen (both have meaning's of "New" in different languages).  They live in our garage and I was determined to build them a safe and fun catio where they could go outside, move about, but still be completely enclosed.  I'm a determined woman and I'm still amazed that I built the whole thing by myself - the frame is 4 feet wide, 8 feet long, and 7 and a half feet tall.  I'm only 5'0" so moving this thing around as I built it on the driveway was quite a feat! My husband helped me move it into place outside of a window, and planning is essential because I knew the overhang of the garage was 8 feet high, so I only allowed 6" of vertical clearance to move it.  I have since done a few upgrades since I installed it a few months ago - I originally wrapped it in chicken wire but decided to take the majority of it down and wrap it with a stronger wire though it has larger gaps.  I also just finished installing a landing pad and a ramp up to the window.  Originally they were jumping in/out through the window down to a camping chair but Nova has been very sore lately after having an altercation with a friend's dog so I wanted to make it as easy as possible for her.

When I first put the catio in place, I salvaged an old branch from the yard and put it about 12" into the ground and then drilled the very top portion of it to the frame, allowing for a more outdoorsy feel.  I added 2 shelves at different heights, which they love to lay on and fall asleep while bird watching.  The camping chairs have been great for giving them a 'hammock' type bed to sleep in, and they do most of their napping in the chairs.  There are 2 bird feeders just a few feet away and now that we have free ranging chickens, the chickens actually enjoy sitting right next to the catio and both birds and cats take naps just a few inches away from each other.  The door is about 6' tall and I put a gate latch on there if I ever wanted it locked, but I don't really see the need for that.  I go in there quite often and sometimes in the evening I'll go in there and sit with them while the sun goes down :)  The location is rather perfect as they never get any direct sunlight - the catio is on the west side of the garage so there's no morning sun, and it also sits below a thick oak tree which strongly filters any afternoon sun.

(Click picture to enlarge)

I also have a coffee can out there for a constant access to water - it gets changed daily so there's no chance of harboring mosquitos.  I recently put up a chicken swing from one of the oak branches - chickens supposedly like to swing and I'm hoping they'll start using it soon.  They really love to sit next to the catio for some reason.  The cat's don't care very much, sometimes Naveen will look at them wide-eyed but he's a lover not a hunter ;)  I have also started growing oat grass with bulkseed I buy online, and then plant it in my own containers.  Once the grass is long enough, I bring a container into the catio for them to snack on - they love it!

If you don't have the ability to build your own, there are pre-made ones you can purchase online for hefty prices, or maybe hire someone to build one for you?  There are so many benefits to catios - some people even move the litter boxes out there so there's no indoor smell!  You can install a cat door in the wall, a cat door through a window or configure something else through the window.  Because ours is next to the garage which we don't really use, all I did was cut a square large enough in the window screen.  We haven't had any strange critters in there, and if I ever need that screen again, they're pretty easy to re-screen.  Read some more benefits about catios here and I hope you consider one for your indoor kitties!

How To Pick a Pet Sitter

I'm a little biased on this topic but I'd like to think I can give some great insight on how to select the perfect person to help take care of your home and pets.  This isn't going to be specific about our area, so feel free to share with friends across the country!  Petsitters can operate in pretty different ways so it's really important to pick the best fit for your needs.  So here's a list of things to consider when interviewing petsitters...

1. How often do you travel?  If you take the occasional vacation (oh say, two trips a year) then a sole-proprietor can work well for you.  On the other hand, if you travel often, needing to go out of town on business quite a bit, you might need a 'team' of petsitters... someone who can always be available at the drop of a hat.  Granted, it might be a different person each time and many people don't like having someone new in their home each time.  A sole-proprietor (like me) would require some more planning to schedule him or her for your needs.  We need vacation too which means when we're out of town, no one is there to watch your pet, there is no back up. 
2. What are your pet's emotional needs?  Some happy-go-lucky dogs don't mind who comes through the front door - as long as there's someone to love on them and feed them!  Some other dogs are very protective and would need an established relationship with the person coming in to take care of them.  Others can have a rough past and have a very hard time trusting people, these dogs need consistency in their lives as much as possible.  Cats can be similar.. some are very friendly and outgoing, but others will go and hide when they hear a new voice in the house.  Knowing that the same person is taking care of your pets time and time-again can be a relief.
3. Does your pet have any specialized needs?  Do they have a medical condition that could really benefit from a petsitter with veterinary experience?  Do they have severe separation anxiety and would require someone to spend the night with them in your home?  Perhaps you have a large dog that has trouble getting around, it might be best to have someone young and strong.
4. Would you need pet-taxi services frequently?  If you board your pet or have your pet groomed and would like someone to pick up and drop off your pet, they need especially reliable transportation to drive your beloved pet around town.  If your dog is large, they'll need to have an appropriate sized-car to get them around, and maybe even a ramp so they can get in/out comfortably.
5. How important is home security to you?  The absolute worst thing I see around town is a car driving around with large magnet's on the side saying "Jane Doe's Petsitting, ###-####".  This is an open invitation for someone to follow that car and find out where all the vacationing homes are.  This is my #1 professional pet peeve!
6. Does the petsitters values line-up with your own?  When someone is going to have access to your home and taking care of your furry family members, it can be very comforting to know that you and your petsitter see eye-to eye.  This largely means views on training and health.  If you firmly believe in positive reinforcement training (clicker training, treat pouch etc)  but your petsitter uses shock collars to train their dogs to sit, lay, etc. it can signal a red flag that they don't value the human-pet relationship as much as you do.
7. How important is insurance and bonding to you? While many petsitters call themselves professional, if they're not investing in their own business, how sure are they in their own services?  When a petsitters spends hundreds of dollars each year to be insured, they are protecting their client and themselves.  Insurance can pay for a house to be re-keyed if a key was lost, it can cover a pet's rattlesnake bite if it happened during the time the petsitter was taking care of them, it can even cover the cost of carpet cleaning if say a pet urinated on the carpet due to a UTI while in the petsitters care.  Also, when a petsitter is bonded, it also protects them and the client - that the client will pay the sum agreed upon and that the petsitter will render the services.  Both insurance and bonding are a must in my book.
8. How important is it that you have your petsitter for years to come?  Petsitters come and go fast and frequent.  Many people start offering petsitting thinking it will be a fun source of income, but in reality petsitting is not a job for someone needing a steady income.  It takes a while to build clientele and many do not have the luxury of being that patient.  I see it too often that they give up within months, move to a different town, or find something else that pays better.  Those of us in it for the long haul are few and far between.

There are benefits to other options like boarding or having your friends watch your pets in their homes.  Boarding would be great for very high energy dogs that need a lot of attention.  The drawback is that respiratory issues can spread like wildfire in a boarding facility even with vaccinations.  We're seeing viruses and bacteria mutate and vaccines are no longer protecting pets at 100%.  Personally, I would never EVER board my pets.  We don't travel enough and I will not have a facility dictate when I should vaccinate my animals.  I also have a very emotionally needy dog that is scared to death of new dogs.  The very sound of a dog on the TV scares her so a boarding facility is way out of the question for us.

Having friends watch your pets in their homes is my favorite option.  This is what we do - we take turns with some friends who live a few minutes away from us.  All of our dogs get along great and both of us wives are former vet techs and have very similar views in training, so we can feel completely comfortable leaving our pets with each other.  This option doesn't work so well for cats though, or if your friends have a particularly busy household.

So while it is very important that your pets and your petsitter get along, there are other factors to consider.    I do wish I could clone myself so I could help more families, but that's the downfall of working as a sole-proprietor.  I limit myself to a small number of clients, but those clients and their pets become family.  They respect that I need to go on vacation too, so I try to plan my trips months in advance and we work with each other's schedules.  When I'm in someone's home taking care of their animals maybe every other month, it is routine - unless something major has changed in the pet's care, I remember exactly how much to feed, what lights to turn on, what shades to close etc. 

In the end, a petsitter won't be perfect for everyone and that's ok!  What matters most is that you have someone you can rely on, who you are 100% comfortable with taking care of your pets, and that your pets love them!

Frozen Seafood Snack

With temperatures over 100* this week, I've been busy keeping our own pet's comfortable and making all sorts of ice cube treats, even for our new chickens!

In my earlier post, Beat the Heat, I mention how you can turn canned dog/cat food into ice cube treats.  If you don't have canned food on hand, or just want to offer your pet's a different option, here's a cheap and healthy ice cube to offer them!  Sidebar: Cats almost always suffer from renal issues later in life due to chronic dehydration so I'm always trying to sneak more water into their bodies, this is a great way to do it!

I used 1 small can of chunk light tuna and 1 can of water packed sardines.  I dumped all contents into a bowl to mix them up and mash up the sardines into flakes, then added enough water to fill an ice cube tray.  It didn't take long for them to freeze and if you need the ice cube tray again, you can keep the extra cubes in a ziplock in the freezer.  The kitties loved these for a mid-day snack and unlike the dogs, really take their time enjoying them, lick by lick =D

Beat the Heat

This post isn't going to focus on heat stroke prevention because I'm pretty sure if you've come to my blog, you probably love your pets as much as I do and would never put your pet's life in danger.  But let's be real, your pets have no business being in the car on a hot summer day while you run inside a store for a quick errand.  Additionally, we all know if your pets are kept outside, they need a significant amount of shade, TONS of water and a surface to lay on that will be out of direct sunlight.  

Even if your pets lay around in the air conditioning all day long with short potty trips outside, the heat can still be pretty rough on them and I know it zaps our dogs of energy.  So here's a list of things to help your dogs and cats beat the heat..

*Offer your pet's frozen treats.  A simple way to do this is to use canned food and make ice cubes out of it, then give it to them frozen.  I love doing this for cats since they will generally take their time, licking it while a dog would probably chew it twice and swallow.

*Frozen toys are a great option for mouthy dogs.  The Chilly Bone comes in different sizes.

*Use a fan on the floor so it will blow directly across the floor/room. Some dogs love to sit in front of fans.  I have heard you can also freeze a gallon of water in the freezer, place it in front of a fan and it will help cool that immediate area.

*You can make a big frozen treat for your cats and dogs like the Doggie Cone.  If you want to make something like this extra tasty and want to use chicken stock, please take the time to make your own stock.  It's so easy and you will be saving your pet from a huge amount of sodium and other chemicals.  If you do want to make your own stock, you can boil extra chicken (or beef parts) like bones or the parts of the chicken carcass you wouldn't use like the back bones.  You can make a significant amount, freeze it into ice cubes and later melt and reform as you'd like.  I've done this before and loved how easy it was.

*You may have freezable toys already in your home like Kong's or other stuffable toys.  One of my favorite things to do is to fill up a Kong with some healthy goodies, freeze it, then give it to the dogs frozen.  Get some of the really small kong's for cats and try it for your felines too!  Frozen Kong's help cool your pet as well as keep them busier for longer.

*Try a cooling mat from K&H.  They come in different sizes and if your dog or cat are not sure about laying on it, you can slip it under the cover of their favorite bed or put a sheet or thin blanket over it.

*Utilize a cheap baby pool to help outdoor dogs. Dogs and cats only sweat through their foot pads and through their nose (sometimes it will look like your dog has a runny nose, it's often them sweating).  Keeping their feet cool is an easy way to help them remove heat from their bodies.  In fact, when a pet comes into an animal hospital with heat stroke and their temperature is still elevated, the first thing the medical team does is saturate their feet with rubbing alcohol.  The alcohol draws heat out from their sweat glands.

*If your dog won't dip their feet in a baby pool, if they can walk in a puddle or wet concrete/ground, it will still help cool their feet down.  I often will spray down walk ways or back patios for some of the dogs I take care of, so that they can cool their feet while walking through it.

*Pretty please don't walk your dogs during the middle of the day but save their walk for after the sun goes down or at sunrise.  One thing to know is that black asphalt holds heat much more than the pale concrete so limit walks to concrete or even better, the dirt.

Please note that 14 states have statutes that prohibit leaving an animal confined in a vehicle.  In most cases, to legally break into a person's car to relieve a pet it must be an officer.  Many people are under the assumption that anyone can break a window with no legal recourse, but just so you know it's best to keep the phone numbers of the police station and animal control in your phone.

Share some fliers with your local vet's office, dog park, groomer etc for others to hand out to help prevent heat stroke due to stupid decisions. Dare I say, put some on a few windshields??

I hope some of these ideas help a few pets out there, please share with your pet loving friends!

Cross Country Traveling with Pets

We just finished a long trek in the car with Pepe & Zoey, our 2 little dogs.  We logged 52 hours and 3,500+ miles in the actual road trip, not including the in-town driving.  It was not an easy beginning to the trip but with some work, the trip became much easier.

To start off with, our dogs do not travel in the car much, really only to the vet or to our friend's homes.  Needless to say, they're not used to long 10 hr days stuck in the car.  Pepe has actually made the road trip with me from IL to AZ when I moved out here (three 9 hr days of driving), but he is the worst in the car.  Because car rides aren't a normal occurrence, the dogs are not particularly calm when getting into the car.  The first half of the first day was pretty rough.  Pepe believes that every time he hears the turn signal or feels the car slow down, that we're coming to our destination which results in a lot of whining in anticipation.  My poor husband was on about 4-5 hours of sleep on that first day of driving and his patience was wearing thin.  We had to stop through 2 border patrol checkpoints which requires briefly speaking to the agent and their K9 partner next to the car.  Pepe especially doesn't like this, feeling like he needs to guard the car of the agents, toll booth attendees and even passing motorcyclists.  Zoey feels the need to have a freak-out when she sees the drug sniffing dogs. Oy Vey!  So knowing they have these issues, I did a little shopping before our big trip.

Enjoying the King bed at La Quinta

First things first, we needed pet-friendly lodging along the way.  I found that La Quinta has a great pet policy - most locations do not charge a pet fee! There is a maximum of 2 pets (dogs and cats) to a room though.  They do not require pet information at time of booking, just upon your arrival.  There are only 4 La Quinta's in the country that do not have this pet policy though.  Here's a link you can use to find other pet-friendly hotels.  Please note some may claim to be pet-friendly but still require a non-refundable deposit.

Here are some of the must-haves I made sure we had for the trip:

-Seat cover - I purchased one on Amazon, and it's doing a great job keeping all the fur and paw prints off the seats.

-Portable water dish - I have one I use for my summer dog walks that collapses into my hydration waist pack. It saves on room and is great for pulling out for a water break while we fill up at a gas station and take a potty break.

-Food storage bag - I purchased one from Outward Hound for a great price.  The bag essentially rolls up to save on room and keeping food fresh.  If you need to tote around a large amount of kibble, this is a great bag, you can pretty much carry it like a purse to help free your hands if hauling your pet's supplies around.

-Peanut butter and kongs - I picked up a small jar of peanut butter as our to-go jar for the road.  The dogs were in their kennels often and got fresh kong snacks to help comfort them despite being in a new place practically every night.

-Treats and chewys within an arms reach - I bought enough chewys (bully sticks) for each dog to have one during the middle of each day of driving.  I also kept some delicious treats on hand so I can grab the dog's attention when I needed to.  This came in the handiest when we came to cash toll booths, so the dogs would ignore the scary human in a glass box that demands to take our money.

-Benedryl - Honestly, to make the trip easier for everyone, I gave the dogs appropriate doses of benedryl so they would nap more in the car.  Consult your veterinarian if you think this is something you need.  There are much heavier tranquilizers but we definitely don't need anything along that level, just enough to encourage a little more sleeping in the car.

-Kennels - I don't crate the dogs in the car.  Many people do.  Many people will harness/seatbelt their dogs in.  It's just my choice and the dogs kept to the bench with their beds and blankets and occasionally came to sit on my lap in the front when invited.  The kennels were for when we stayed with family.  All our dogs are crate-trained to enter their kennels on command and enjoy it.  At home, their crates are always used for positive time like their kongs or chewys, for this very reason. 

Pepe & Zoey snoozing somewhere between Wichita and Albuquerque

Overall it was a great trip, the dogs soon became accustomed to getting in/out of the car for the long hauls.  Most importantly we kept bringing the dogs a secret to surprise my dad :)

Supplement Staples

by Linnea on 03/11/14
Here is my short list of supplement necessities that are always in stock in my pantry and why you should consider keeping them on hand as well..



1) A non-dairy mix of pre- and pro-biotics.  This particular bag is the 'equine' size, but it has the exact same formula as the canine/feline bag, it's just a larger quantity so don't let the horse fool you too much.  I pick up this digestive Formula at Ramsey Canyon Feed, but it should be in any Pet Club store.  It also contains digestive enzymes, which helps your pet break down their food more easily.  I like a non-dairy option as cow's milk is rather difficult to digest for really any species besides cows.  Additionally, many pets develop allergies to dairy milk.  The prebiotics help to feed the probiotics and as we all know probiotics are good to have on hand specifically for two reasons: 1) Digestive distress and 2) When your pet is on antibiotics - the probiotics help to reestablish the good bacteria in the gut that antibiotics wipe out.

2) Omega 3 fish oils.  Omega 3's are powerhouses - They help boost skin and coat health, they help to maintain healthy brain function and they also help keep joints lubricated.  Animals have different nutritional requirements than us, so make sure there are NO omega 9's as they do not need and cannot utilize them.  Speak with your vet about using an over the counter supplement and the quantity you should use for the size of your pet.  Sidebar:  sometimes starting fish oils at full strength can give pets loose stools until their GI system gets used to the extra oil, so weaning onto them is a safe solution.  At the same time, if your pet is constipated, a full dose of fish oils can help get things moving along.

3) Pure Pumpkin Puree - Pumpkin is nature's perfect GI balancer.  Whether a pet is constipated or has diarrhea, pumpkin helps to fix it!  It has a tastey dose of fiber and the water in pumpkin helps to rehydrate the body in the case of chronic diarrhea.  Anytime one of our pet's has some GI issue, I skip the traditional chicken and rice and instead give cooked ground turkey and pumpkin.  *If you buy the pumpkin canned, make sure it is PLAIN pumpkin and not the pumpkin pie mix, which is full of sugar.  Otherwise during the fall, pumpkin puree is easy to make and can be stored in the freezer!

4) Water-packed Sardines.  Basically I always have this on hand because our dogs and cats go bananas over sardines, and it can replace a fish oil capsule.  They come in different flavors so make sure it's only packed in water (and not hot sauce!).  A can is $1 or less and can be divided among your pets.  Even though Sardines are low on the marine food chain and therefore do not contain a concerning amount of mercury, I would speak to your vet if you want to make them a daily addition to your pet's nutrition.

Pet Parent New Years Resolutions

by Linnea on 12/31/13

We usually think of resolutions to improve ourselves but how about to improve our pets?  I made a small list of things to work on as a pet parent, but if you've mastered these, think about other ways you can improve your pet or your relationship with you pet..

1) Start brushin'!  In a perfect world, your pet's teeth would be brushed as often as your teeth are brushed but that's never going to happen in real life.  If teeth brushing already occurs at home, just make it more efficient or easier to remember.  Maybe keep the pet toothbrush and paste in the drawer of the coffee table, so when a commercial comes on, you can whip the brush out before your show comes back on.  If brushing is a new and foreign concept, ease your pet into it.  Pick a tastey pet toothpaste (I prefer the CET brand carried at your vet's office), brush only one tooth, give your pet a treat and you're done for the day. The next day brush a few seconds longer, treat, and done.  You're slowly introducing the brush and rewarding your pet for tolerating it.  Soon you can discontinue the treats!

2) Trim that tummy!  Obesity in dogs and cats has become an epidemic just like in humans.  Increase their exercise and decrease their portions and treats.  Reconsider the food that they're on as well.  If their food has rice, corn, wheat and other grains and carbs, it is an sneaky way to pack on the pounds.  Look into grain-free foods, where you get the same amount of calories in a smaller portion.  Or ask your veterinarian about the 'green-bean diet'.  It is better to be a slightly underweight than slightly overweight - extra pounds mean extra work on the joints, higher cholesterol, higher blood pressure (yes pets deal with these issues too!) and a higher chance of developing diabetes.

3) Routine vet checks.  Your vet can find diseases and illness in your pet long before you can - if you can give your vet a thorough description of your pet's activities (lounges around being lay all day, or excessive grooming, or sneezing a lot) this helps your vet to put together a puzzle of what your pet may be going through.  The minimum standard is 2 check-ups a year since pet's age much faster than we do, and it would be ideal to do annual routine bloodwork as well to keep an eye on important levels like liver and kidney enzymes.

4) Teach your old dog new tricks.  Work on some new behaviors this year and exercise your pet's mind!  Goldfish are trainable so that means even your cat is trainable!  You can work on new tricks with your pet or work on a behavior that has been driving you crazy!  Does your dog rush to the door when people come in and you're worried they'll escape?  Train them to sit on a small rug several feet away from the door.  If your cat insists on walking on kitchen counters, start teaching them to stay off them (it can be done!)

5) Invest in your pet's health.  You've been feeding the same brand of food for years and the same treats, and getting the same vaccinations year after year.  Start expanding your horizons and learn about preventative health for your pet.  Consider adding some supplements to their diet since many lose their effectiveness when they're cooked in kibble.  If your pet has an ailment like arthritis or diabetes, continue doing more research into alternative therapies.  Veterinary medicine continues to evolve the way human medicine does, stay current on new approaches to better help your furry family member.

What are some other suggestions for your resolutions for your pets?

Homemade Cat Toys

by Linnea on 12/25/13

Pet toys are so expensive these days and it's really easy to make a few of your own.  Here's the homemade version of a popular cat toy:

You can use any box that is not too deep for your cat to reach into.  Cereal boxes or pizza boxes are perfect for this.  If your leftover pizza box isn't all that greasy and you'd like to use it, just tape or glue a layer of parchment paper or even wrapping paper over the grease side - using either of these will keep the grease from bleeding through.

Cut uniform holes in the box - I chose a size small enough that a jingle bell can fit through, but a cat shouldn't be able to get his paw and the ball out.  I also chose to cut the holes in the box before wrapping....

I wrapped the box after cutting the holes, on purpose.  This way, I can still easily find the holes, cut into them and then wrap the edges and tape them back on the inside, giving it a smooth appearance so edges won't get frayed or easily torn if a nail catches it.

And tada! You just recycled a box, and if you don't have wrapping paper, you can use newspaper or just leave the box as-is (just remember to tape the opened end down).  Chances are, you already have plenty of cat toys you can put in there - a jingle bell, a crunchy shiny ball of something, a catnip mouse...

Bad Combinations of Pet Medications and Food

by Linnea on 12/06/13

Human doctors and pharmacists are great at telling patients about possible drug interactions and what to avoid while taking a certain prescription.  These cautions, for some reason, are often overlooked at veterinary hospitals.  Often times people will fill their pet's prescription at the local pharmacy instead of the veterinarian because it's cheaper, but pharmacists are not familiar with animal medicine and you may not be cautioned about possible interactions.

Because we usually have to hide our pet's medications in super savory treats, there is a high concern with interactions.  Here is a list of some bad combinations:

-Doxycycline/Tetracycline:  Do not use dairy products like cheese when using tetracycline antibiotics.  This includes the very popular doxycycline, which is almost always prescribed with upper respiratory infections like kennel cough.  The calcium in dairy products can prevent the body from absorbing the medication.  Cheese is a popular pill popper, but any high calcium food should be avoided with these antibiotics.

-Thyroid medications:  Should never be taken with a meal because the food absorption tends to inhibit the absorption of the medication.  It is best to give thyroid meds 1 hour before a meal, or 3 hours after.  This is especially true if your pet is on a higher fiber diet.

-Enalapril: ACE inhibitors cause the body to retain potassium so it is best to avoid high potassium foods.  This shouldn't be that much of an issue unless your pet has a taste for bananas or other high potassium foods.  You also want to avoid high sodium foods, so no hiding that enalapril in some salami!

-Cyclosporine: Many are not familiar with this drug, but it is an immunosuppressant for pet's that have severe allergies.  If your pet needs to go on fluconazole or phenobarbital, these can affect the removal of cyclosporine from the body.

These are just some possible interactions with more popular drugs used for pets.  Anytime your pet is prescribed a medication, ask your Vet about possible side effects so you can continue your pet's treatment with peace of mind.

The Scoop on Pet Insurance

by Linnea on 10/09/13

More and more companies are jumping on the pet insurance bandwagon but it is important to know that pet insurance is a lot different than human health insurance.  Let me break it down into sections...

What does pet insurance cover and not cover?

Most insurance companies will not cover pre-existing conditions.  If your dog has been diagnosed with a disease/illness, let's say hypothyroidism, then medications and further blood testing may not be covered.  Additionally, most companies will not cover dental cleanings (prophylaxis) because they consider them 'cosmetic', even though there is significant periodontal disease.  Any other procedures that fall under the cosmetic category also won't be covered (tail docking, ear cropping, perhaps even declawing).  Also, many companies do not cover alternative therapies like laser treatments, hydrotherapy/underwater treadmill, accupuncture... etc.  Wellness services like annual exams, vaccines etc., are not usually covered unless you opt for additional coverage.

Pet Insurance is mostly good for sudden illness or injury.  Often times there is a small waiting period between signing up for coverage and being to submit a claim (I've seen waiting periods of 7-14 days).  So it is mostly beneficial to cover you in an urgent medical situation like acute pancreatitis, a broken leg, torn ACL, or a run-in with some wildlife.  I have seen many companies actually cover the cost of euthanasia and cremation.  Insurance will also cover medications for the sudden illness/injury like pain killers or antibiotics, but usually will not cover supplements even when you purchase them from your veterinarian.  

What optional add-on's are available?

Some companies offer the option of add-on's for an additional amount of money.  For an extra cost, some companies will cover preventatives - this would include wellness exams, vaccines, heartworm testing etc.  Some of the more 'updated' companies have additional coverage to include alternative therapies and even dental cleanings!

What about discounts?

I've seen at least one company offer discounts for insuring multiple pets, as well as military discounts, or a slight discount based on your individual pet's information.  (A younger mixed breed dog will be cheaper to insure than an older pure breed dog.)  One company even offers a small discount if you pay for the whole year up front instead of monthly payments.

What is the process of submitting a claim?

In my experience of filling out claims when I was a veterinary technician, you (the owner) prints off a claim form and bring it to your hospital.  Your veterinarian (or a technician, if directed) will fill out the claim with your veterinarian's diagnosis (and their signature), and whether the pet is still under treatment or 'resolved'.  There might be a space where you or your vet's office will fill out the approximate amount of money you spent on the illness/injury based on your invoices.  When it's all filled out, you send the form back to your company.  I do not know the time frame of when you receive your reimbursement.

Name Your Price

You can usually chose the amount of coverage for the calender year as well as choosing your deductible.  You can choose for insurance to cover $1,000 for the year or even up to $20,000 for the year, and deductibles can be as low as $250 or higher towards $1,000.  This way you have an easier time choosing how much to pay on a monthly basis.

Some Pet Insurance companies you can check out online:

Embrace Pet Insurance

Veterinary Pet Insurance

Trupanion Medical Insurance

ASPCA Pet Health Insurance

24PetWatch Pet Insurance

PetsBest Insurance

Healthy Paws Pet Insurance

PetFirst Pet Insurance

No Grains, No Way, No How

by Linnea on 09/19/13

I need a bit of a ramp-up on this blog entry.  I should start off with saying I was once a mis-guided uneducated dog owner once, even in my early vet tech days.  I didn't have enough experience to question what I had been hearing all along, believing that what I heard from my vet's was absolute truth.  In human medicine we get second opinions if we're not sure about the initial treatment plan/advice, we do our own research on treatments and illnesses and consider alternative treatments (acupuncture, chiropractic, herbs are all considered alternatives).  So the concept of extra research shouldn't be foreign when it comes to our pets.  At a certain point in my animal career, I started becoming interested in alternative therapies for myself which led to an interest in all options for my dog.  When Pepe was a puppy I fed him a popular kibble promoted by my animal hospital, I thought it was top notch and even recommended to family and friends. Well I was wrong.  The longer I worked with animals, the more I saw how nutrition impacts their health and how certain medical issues could be directly stemmed from the food they eat every single day. So I began my quest of animal nutrition, attending CE's (continuing education credits) on diet and reading food labels and researching, researching researching...

My dog's have been grain-free for years now.  I do not allow wheat or corn to touch their lips and my 'rules' for nutrition carries over in their treat selections as well.  The first proof that grains should not be a part of a cat or dog's diet is to look at their teeth ... they have teeth designed for ripping and tearing, not for grinding.  Their bottom jaw does not have the ability to swing as they chew.. our bottom jaws swing in a similar fashion as ruminants (cows, sheep, goats etc.)  Humans and ruminants swing their bottom jaw for the purpose of chewing down grains and plant materials - dog's and cat's do not have this ability to even chew plant material properly.  Although whatever plant material in kibbles has been processed and doesn't require the amount of chewing it would in it's natural state, the inability to chew them is a strong indicator that it shouldn't be in their diets in the first place.

One major reason to remove grains from their diets is due to how grains are broken down in the body.  As we all know, carbohydrates are categorized into simple carbs and complex carbs.  Both break down into sugars, and excess sugar is the enemy.  Sugar specifically feeds yeast and cancer.  If your dog battles ear yeast infections, most likely diet is the cause.  If your pet battles with skin issues, there could also be an overabundance of yeast on the skin.  Cancer also feeds on sugars in the body.  When a pet is diagnosed with cancer, veternarian's put them on a high fat/high protein/low carb diet (Hill's N/D diet is for cancer and due to the high fat content, only a canned version is available).  Cancer needs sugar to live, so vet's put pet's on a strict diet to limit sugars as much as possible.  So then why don't we feed anti-cancer diets as a proactive solution??

Dr. Gregory Ogilvie, DVM at Colorado State University has done extensive research in the matter of canine cancer and the role that diet has on cancer.  Studies by Dr. Ogilvie have shown that dogs with lymphoma fed a diet high in simple carbs had significantly worse outcomes than dogs fed diets high in fat. Additionally, studies have shown that dog's and cat's that were fed grain-free diets, had 50% less cancer occurrences than those fed grain based diets.  Wow!!!  Those numbers alone are what convinced me to make the switch. 

Dog Food Advisor has done a great job at pointing out even more reasons why grains should be eliminated from the diet.  The food reviewers at Dog Food Advisor really get into the detail on why certain food ingredients are poor choices and they have an extensive forum community where pet 'foodies' can post question and reply to each other. Here is a forum on grains from earlier this year and you can see there are many other knowledgeable pet owners who are very mindful of what they feed their dogs. (They have yet to make a CatFoodAdvisor.com).

Take a turn and compare a grain-based diet compared to a grain-free diet.  Read through the ingredients of each and specifically read about ingredients that they highlight in red.  Now a dog or cat will survive on both of these foods, but they will only THRIVE on one of them.

I hope this has been informative and not overwhelming (this is my short version of why grains are a no-no!).  All I want is for your furry ones to live long happy healthy lives, and nutrition is the easiest way to do this.

Some informative links:

Nutrition and Cancer: Frontiers for Cure, Dr. Gregory Ogilvie 

Cancer Diet for Dogs - Modern Dog Magazine

Nutrition for the Canine Cancer Patient - CanineCancer.com

More Protein, Less Carbs - FightCanineCancer.com

Dogs at Large: What to do When Approached by Loose Dogs

by Linnea on 09/16/13

Today was a rough day at work.  Dog-walking is not all sunshine and daffodils, and today was an excellent reminder of that.  The most important thing to me is keeping my clients pets safe while in my care which is why I'm a bit more 'heavily-equipped' than the average dog walker.  Although sometimes you're simply caught off-guard, having a great time with your walking buddy on a street you walk on all the time (you quickly learn what houses have the 'yard dogs', and thus decide your walking path) and a strange dog comes running at you out of nowhere...

In today's case, it was 3 dogs on 2 separate occasions!!  During the first walk, I was with my buddy, a young pitbull mix who just loves everyone but is not so fond of other dogs his size (or larger).  We were just 5 minutes into our walk, on our normal path when 2 large scruffy black dogs come running at us from a front yard.  I have never seen these dogs before so I'm guessing they might have just been resting in the shade of a tree.  My little buddy got mad ... real mad that these rude dogs were charging him and his favorite dog walker.  After having quite a bit of on-the-job experience with this, my first instinct was to use my 'mom-voice' and yell "NO!!" at them in a deep LOUD voice.  EVERY dog knows the word 'no' and it stopped them dead in their tracks no less than 20 feet from us.  I tried to get my little buddy behind me as much as possible (not easy with a strong pittie mix) and kept him as close as possible on the leash.  The dogs were clearly confused and would walk away and then come back to us, trying to get close and again I yelled 'NO!!"  I probably yelled 8 times or so and unfortunately only one person came out of their house see what the commotion was.  I had been standing in place with my buddy until I decided the best course of action was to slowly turn around in the direction we had come from.  The 2 dogs had decided they had enough of being yelled at and went on their way, but I still kept looking over my shoulder to make sure they didn't start coming our way again.

During another walk today, I was walking two dogs in a different neighborhood and a yappy pug came running out into the street to defend 'his territory' luckily the pug didn't mean much business and my 2 walking buddies really didn't care, and everyone went on their merry way.

Normally when I see a loose dog, I want to try to get them to come to me, leash them if I have one handy - I almost always do, and looks for ID tags.  But when I have a client's dog(s) with me, their safety comes first which is why I 'saddle-up' when I walk dogs.

Depending on the season, I wear 1 of 2 waist packs I have.  In the packs, I can carry my cell phone, poop bags, treats and citronella spray.  I have heard stories of people throwing treats at the charging dog in order to hopefully distract them - if they've been loose long enough, they might just be hungry enough to stop for a snack.  The citronella spray is a deterrent and can be found in most pet-supply stores.   I hear of many people carrying pepper spray but I also hear that pepper spray can kill a dog, so in a perfect world you can carry both sprays - one for annoying loose dogs and another for a loose dog that wants to kill you.

While charging dogs is a scary situation, if you try to flee from them, it might turn on their desire to chase. And if the dogs end up getting in a scuffle, be prepared to DROP the leash if needed.  While living on my own when I was single, I had just stepped outside my apartment with my 2 tiny dogs and an off-leash golden retriever charged us and attacked my dogs while we were still on our doorstep.  At that time I had retractable leashes (which I no longer use, for ANY walker) and my little dogs started getting their leashes wrapped around my legs trying to escape our attacker.  The leash can also get wrapped around their own legs, limiting their ability to defend themselves from the attacker.  

So in conclusion, you can never predict these things but you can be as prepared as possible.  Be prepared, be alert and be diligent friends!

Pet Friendly Pesticides

by Linnea on 08/30/13

Right now in our area of southern Arizona, we are having a massive problem with caterpillars and our normal grasshoppers.  This is especially detrimental for those of us who grow our own food!  Now, I am anti-'cide' of any kind... no commercial pesticides or herbicides are allowed on my property, mostly for the safety of my dogs.  Lawn chemicals are linked to cancer in pets... they walk through the grass and plants and then come inside and dogs lick their feet and kitties groom themselves.  I take whatever measures I can to prevent illness in my pets, so here's what I'm spraying in my yard....

You can invest a mere $10 in a gallon sized pressure sprayer and use a few things from your kitchen and you'll be set!

Some ingredients you can use:

Garlic - I'm sure fresh is best, and freshly minced is bestest! (Forgive me there)

Some sort of hot pepper - if you have some dried red pepper flakes, or cut up a jalapeno..

Essential oils - peppermint and citronella oils are great at repelling bugs, you can usually find these in a vitamin shop.

Soap- I haven't tried soap yet but you can easily find some more info about it online.

Let your ingredients soak in a gallon of water at least overnight or 24 hours if you're patient enough.  You'll probably need to strain the fluid so it won't clog the sprayer.  Have fun going to town on those buggys!

[PLEASE] put your pets indoors when spraying this in the yard - no doggy needs to be accidently pepper sprayed :)  And if you are sensitive to peppers, use appropriate gear (gloves, safety goggles etc) but for the most part you should be fine, I sprayed the garden down while groggy at 7am in my jammies :)

Here are some additional links you'll find useful:
Homemade Caterpillar Killer 1

Homemade Caterpillar Killer 2

Canine Arthritis

by Linnea on 07/31/13

Arthritis doesn't discriminate, it affects dogs and cats alike but we see it most often in large breed dogs and overweight dogs.  Arthritis is a degenerative disease, it will continue to progress and is incurable but can be slowed down or if using preventative measures, can likely delay the onset.

Preventatives:

-The easiest way to prevent/delay arthritis is keeping your pet at a healthy weight, or even lean.  The problem is, pets are becoming more and more obese that the 'norm' has become overweight pets - so when people see a lean dog, they assume it is under-fed.  The best way to gauge this is to use the Body Condition Score that vet's use.

-Omega 3 fatty acids  - these are found in certain fishes and in flaxseed.  They reduce inflammation throughout the body and they also reduce cartilage breakdown.  (make sure to use only Omega 3's ... Omega 6's induce inflammation).  Great sources of Omega 3's: flaxseed, sardines, salmon..)

-Glucosamine hydrochloride / Chondroitin Sulfate - These do not always come as a duo, but are often seen together.  Glucosamine supplementation can influence cartilage structure and chondroitin is a structural element of cartilage and extra supplementation has anti-inflammatory properties.

-Green lipped mussels - What are those?? Well, green lipped mussels are showing up in more and more bags of dog food!  They are actually delicious, they come from New Zealand and I buy mine locally from an asian market.

So your dog is starting to show symptoms of arthritis, now what?

I am not a fan of pharmaceuticals unless absolutely necessary, so I am VERY hesitant to rely on NSAIDs for pain management because they start to affect the liver, and unforunately in my vet tech experience, I have seen too many pets go into liver failure because of long-term medication use. Pain relievers do exactly what they say.. cover the pain.  How about looking for healthier ways to help supplement cartilage and reduce painful inflammation (it's never too late to start the supplements mentioned above).

-Talk to your vet about Adequan (a-dee-quan).  It is a series of injections that your vet's office will give your dog, over the course of a few weeks.  Adequan helps to maintain cartilage at it's current amount and supports the repairing process.  It is FDA approved, which assures it's effectiveness!

-Talk with your vet about alternative measures like acupuncture and laser treatment.  Even ask about at-home methods like massage and accupressure.

-If you have access to a canine hydrotherapy pool, utilize it!  Especially if your dog has weight-induced arthritis, swimming is the best way to exercise without the pressure on already achy joints.  I don't suggest going to a creek since most dogs will run and jump during play and the cooler water temps can stiffen joints.  Hydrotherapy pools (or underwater treadmills) maintain their water temperatures around 90*F which helps tender joints and muscles.

-Look into supplements designed for alleviating arthritis.  My favorite is Phycox, which comes in chewables or a powder.  Your vet can order these or you can purchase them through a reputable online pet pharmacy like VetRxDirect.com.  Another one I'm familiar with is Joint Defense by 2Doc's.

NSAID's like Deramaxx or Rimadyl should be your last resort.  Long-term use (which in the case of nsaid's, means longer than 5 days or so) requires checking liver values through a blood test.  This is very important and should be a red-flag if your vet doesn't suggest monitoring liver values while on these kinds of medications.  These can be used as-needed and not necessarily every day.

How to make your old achy dog's life easier...

-Mobility harnesses are used to help support your dog when needing to get around or in/out of the car, up/down stairs etc.  There are several kinds out there, just pick one that will be comfortable for your dog.

-In the case of larger breed dogs, ramps will help getting in and out of cars.  These take some training for the dog to get used to, so don't set it up into your car and expect your dog to walk up it right away.

So you can see it is a manageable disease and there are lots of options available to help your arthritic pooch!

Insight into Pet Food Recalls

by Linnea on 06/20/13

Pet food recalls seem to be happening more and more often and for owners who have food sensitive pets, it can cause a real problem trying to find a new food.  2007 will stay in my memory for a long time, not because my dog (I only had 1 at the time) ate any of the recalled food, but because I was a vet tech at the time and remember running lots of bloodwork on pets who had been eating one of the many recalled foods.  For those unaware, 2007 was a year when pet foods were literally killing dogs and cats.  China-based ingredients were contaminated with melamine, a substance used to make (inferior) plastics.  According to the FDA's website on the matter:

"Melamine can be used to create products such as plastics, cleaning products, glues, inks, and fertilizers. Under certain conditions, melamine mixed with wheat gluten can make the product appear to have a higher protein level than is actually present. Melamine has no approved use as an ingredient in human or animal food in the United States. Wheat gluten is a natural protein derived from wheat or wheat flour, which is extracted to yield a powder with high protein content. Pet food manufacturers often use wheat gluten as a thickener or binding agent in the manufacture of certain types of pet food."

It was essentially destroying the kidneys of pet's who were trying to filter the melamine out of their bodies, causing permanent kidney damage or even death in some cases.

Now the worst part, which many don't realize, is that even though food companies KNOW their product is causing health problems, it doesn't automatically mean their product is recalled.  The FDA has certain steps and procedures to recalling a product as there are 3 different types of recalls: Recalls may be conducted on a firm's own initiative (this is voluntary), by FDA request, or by FDA order under statutory authority.  Many companies will recall their product voluntarily because product testing will show that they may be contaminated with something.  Voluntary recalls like this are good Public relations .... in the company's eyes, this shows the consumer that the company cares enough about the possibility of a pet getting sick and therefore, will lose money on taking their product off the shelves, to prevent further illness.  Then on the other spectrum, FDA ordered recalls mean that a product has been shown to have problems, the company has chosen not to pull their product off the shelves, so the FDA HAS to step in essentially saying 'your product is pretty bad, and we will take it off the shelves since you are choosing not to.'

Now, recalls WILL happen... human food or pet food. When you're taking once-living ingredients (meat, fruit, veggies) that are meant to rot, and mass producing them in large factories, and cooking them at extreme temperatures ... you are bound to have problems now and then.  (Anyone remember our spinach recalls in 2006 or our ground turkey recalls last year? I certainly didn't stop eating those foods alltogether, I just waited until they were safe to eat again.)

Recently, there have been known issues with chicken jerky treats stemming from China.  The FDA hasn't recalled these treats because they haven't been able to find the reason why so many pet's are getting sick from these treats.  So they have been able to stay on store shelves - being sold to unknowing pet owners.  Additionally, pet food companies can be sneaky about labeling their products - while they can label their products as "Manufactured in the US" this does not mean their products are sourced from the US ... it can simply mean the product/ingredients come from other countries but are made/manufactured in the states. Sneaky sneaky... And unfortunately, this is the case for LOTS of companies.  So it is legal for them to say their final product comes from the US, individual ingredients could be coming from all over the world.  Always find out where your ingredients are coming from.

The pet food industry is also overseen by AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) so it makes it a little tricky when you have two programs (FDA & AFFCO) keeping an eye on one industry (pet food).  It means pet food is not as well regulated as human food (imagine having two managers doing the job of one manager ... co-managing can make things difficult).

So what this all means is that no matter what, keep a close eye on recalls, you can even sign up with your email at Dog Food Advisor, or follow them on facebook for recall news.  Additionally, you might be interested in doing some research on your pet's treats - you may be buying treats that have been known to be causing illness in hundreds of pet's, but have not been officially recalled by the FDA (seriously, if you have store-bought chicken jerky treats, PLEASE look into this - I am choosing not to name brands here, but am hoping you will look into where your treats are coming from.)

Here is the FDA's main page for pet food/treat recalls.

Here is Dog Food Advisor's page for pet food/treat recalls.

Disaster Preparedness for Pets

by Linnea on 05/09/13

Here in the southwest springtime also means brush fires, which can easily turn into wildfires as we learned in 2011 with the Monument fire.  Wildfires are generally the only natural disasters we have to deal with here, but in other parts of the country you need to be prepared whether it's the possibility of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, or tornados. No matter what kind of pets you have, it is smart to be prepared if you have to evacuate your area in case of an emergency.

In 2011, as the Monument fire became a wildfire, I prepared a 'go' back for myself and our dogs.  Even my turtle has a 'go' bin to safely transport him in a container of water.

Water, food, collapsible bowls, treats. (Photo from BeforeItsNews.com)

 

Here are some guidelines for preparing your pets for an emergency:

• Have a container of supplies in an easily accessible spot.  The container/bag needs to have some key items: Plan for a week's worth of food, food/water bowls - disposable containers or collapsible containers are best so they won't take up much room.  Extra leashes for dogs.  Copies of shot records in case you board/kennel your pets after you evacuate. Possibly some calming medications that could help alleviate stress and cortisol production.  I like holy basil and Rescue Remedy. Maybe some catnip toys for kitties.  For dogs, kong toys and bully sticks that can keep them occupied when you're holed up in a temporary spot like a hotel or again, possibly for boarding. Copies of medications your pet is on, in case you need a refill when away from home.

• Make sure microchip information is updated.  In stressful situations, many dogs will even flee from their owners.  If a local animal hospital is offering to board pets during emergencies, often times a dog or cat will get loose there and proper ID is crucial.

• Keep a good quality head-shot of your pet handy at all times.  What I mean is if you keep a flash drive with you, or a picture of your pet on your phone... In case they go missing during the commotion of evacuation, you can quickly make copies of a LOST poster.

• If time and space permits, bring your pet's carriers/crates with.  If you need to board them, chances are the local boarding facilities will be packed full but with enough help, they should be able to take more pets in if they have their own crate. Or if you can keep your pets with you at a hotel or a friend's house, their crate can keep them safe and confined if you need to leave the building temporarily.  This is why it is especially important for your dogs (and kitties too!) to be comfortable in their crate, it can act like a portable bedroom for them.

 

Rescue Remedy, great for calming animals!

In the mean time, check to see if the Red Cross is putting on any pet CPR classes, which can help you put together a first aid kit.  And if you do pack some kibble for your pets, change it out every 2 months or so and check expiration dates on canned food!