Our New Dog

I hate the noisy fireworks....very nerve racking.

We didn't dress him up

Dog food is plant or animal material intended for consumption by dogs or other canines. Special types of dog food, given as a reward, and not as a staple, are known as dog treats.

Some people make their own dog food or feed their dogs meals made from ingredients purchased in grocery or health-food stores; many others rely on commercially manufactured dog food.

There are many different recommendations on what diet is best for dogs. Some people argue that dogs have thrived off of leftovers and scraps from their human owners for thousands of years and that commercial dog foods (which have only been available for the past century) contain poor-quality meats, additives, and other ingredients dogs should not ingest, or that commercial dog food is not nutritionally sufficient enough for their dogs.

www.dogfoodsecrets.info

 

Monday, 6 October 2008

Author Andrew Lewis claims that commercial dog food is hazardous to pets.

Dog Food Secrets, the new dog food recipe book by author Andrew Lewis, featuring his alternative approach to feeding dogs, is now available online in e-book format.

Dog Food Secrets advocates a more balanced approach to dog food and includes home-cooked recipes which are cost efficient for owners and life-prolonging, claims Lewis.

Lewis, who wrote the book after the mysterious death of his dog, Noble, conducted research which showed that the large amount of preservatives regularly used by dog food companies in their products cause not only cancer but other deadly disorders. Furthermore, he claims that commercial dog food has also been found to contain the following:

• The processed faeces of other dead animals.
• Putrid road kill.
• The decaying carcasses of dogs, cats, and zoo animals.
• The deadly poison, Sodium Pentobarbital, used the euthanise the animals mentioned above by lethal injection.
• Pet collars, flea collars, ID tags and plastic bags.

One such preservative used in dog food is ethoxoquin, which is made by the company Monsanto. Despite being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ethoxoquin is a toxic chemical that was initially used to preserve and stabilise rubber. It has been linked to stillborn puppies, birth defects, liver failure, cancer and infertility.

Ethoxoquin was initially permitted to be used in human food at a maximum rate of 0.5 parts-per-million (ppm), yet approved for pets at a rate of 150ppm. However, if other ingredients in the pet food have ethoxoquin in them, such as animal fat or products from a meat renderer, but the pet food manufacturer did not actually add the ethoxoquin themselves, then it does not have to be included on the label.

BHA (Butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene) are also used as preservatives. They affect the nervous system in animals, as well as their neurological development, and can also cause liver and kidney problems.

Dog Food Secrets is released under Dog Care Secrets, a Miami-based company. More information about Dog Food Secrets can be found here: www.dogfoodsecrets.info

Several brands and varieties of dry dog and cat food have been recalled by Mars Petcare because the food may be contaminated with a strain of Salmonella called Salmonella serotype Schwarzengrund. A joint announcement made by Mars Petcare and the Food and Drug Administration says the recall involves all the pet food produced at the company's plant in Everson, Pennsylvania between February 18 and July 29 of this year.

The recall affects food distributed to 31 states and includes such brands as Pedigree, Country Acres, Retriever, Doggy Bag, Members Mark, Natural, Ol' Roy, Special Kitty, Paws & Claws, Wegman's, Pet Pride, PMI Nutrition and Red Flannel. A full list of the brands, varieties and sizes of recalled foods can be found on the Mars Petcare Web site. The company has not said how much food has been recalled.

Mars Petcare stopped production at the Everson facility on July 29 when it was alerted to a possible link between dry pet food produced at the Everson plant and two isolated cases of people infected with Salmonella Schwarzengrund.

Salmonella can cause serious infections in dogs and cats, and, if there is cross contamination caused by handling of the pet food, in people as well, especially children, the aged, and people with compromised immune systems. Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Animals can be carriers with no visible symptoms and can potentially infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

In June, the Centers for Disease Control attributed a large, multi-state Salmonella outbreak that occurred between 2006-2007 to contaminated dry dog food. The two brands of food involved in that recall, Krasdale and Red Flannel, were also made by Mars Petcare. As we reported here, the outbreak affected at least 70 people across 19 states. Many suffered serious illness and some were even hospitalized.

The Everson facility has been taken offline until the source of the Salmonella can be identified. Many of the brands involved in the recall are national brands produced at multiple facilities. For example, less than three percent of Pedigree products on the market were produced in Everson. The company is working with retailers to have the pet food removed from shelves.

Dry pet food has a long shelf life so the FDA is advising pet owners to check their supply. The food can be returned to the store where it was purchased for a full refund. To help consumers determine if they may have purchased any of the products, the FDA is offering this guidance.

Non-Pedigree brands. Consumers should look for "17" as the first two digits of the second line. Sample:

Best By Feb 18 09
17 1445 1

Pedigree products. Consumers should look for "PAE" on the bottom line—the sixth, seventh and eighth digits. Sample:

Pedigree Small Crunchy Bites
Best Before 02/2009
808G1PAE01 12:00

Pet owners who have questions about the recall should call 1-877-568-4463 or visit www.petcare.mars.com. The FDA encourages pet owners to follow the agency's tips on how to handle pet food safely.

www.dogfoodsecrets.info

www.dogfoodsecrets.info is a great source of information about what to feed your dog. It ends much of the confusion about what is the right food to feed. Now if you sign up for their newsletter you can download 40 of the author's favorite recipes!!

Such is the life of a suburban dog. Tomorrow for sure.....

The Vanilla flavored ones are my favorite!

Ha ha Koge,
Here I am, under the Christmas tree. If you'd get your act together you could be in this picture, too.
Maybe if you get through your obedience class that starts in a week, you'll figure this out!
*Jenny*

Hey, Kogay! I just hacked into your site. I never got a blogspot of my own...not that I'd want one....but you certainly don't deserve one. Chill out!

Jennifur---the cool one

Do you realize that when you read on the dog food can/package, "this food is unfit for human consumption" that it is a warning for your dog also? Do you know what is in your dog food? It is scary! Think dog/cat parts, sodium phenobarbital, lead and other numerous poisons and contaminants. Is healthy dog food healthy? In many instances, it is not. Do your research!
Here's a good place to start: www.dogfoodsecrets.info

I'm Koge, the pack dog, I carry my own water, cookies and poop bags. Most importantly, I'm working hard and don't have time to attack lazy lap dogs. Get out of my way, I'm on a mission!

When D goes into town for his appointments, he ties Koge up so he can stay either in the patio or in the garden. His favorite place is in a dirt mound in the yard. It was raining that day, so Koge finds a brand new giant sized potting soil bag to create his own mound under cover on his new rug we bought for him. Doesn't he look proud of himself?

Koge loves to fetch, but luckily he tires fairly quickly before your arm does.

Koge is getting more civilized. Or maybe we are able to read his moods better or maybe it is mutual. Here is his look to say..."I'm bored and I want to go to the park"

Well,sort of a trick. He will sit up and guess which hand the treat is in....

Are you having problems getting your dog to obey your commands? Why do you want a well-behaved dog?
Do you have a generally disobedient dog?
Does your dog embarrass you in public?
Are you sick of excessive biting, barking, whining, etc?
Are you sick of dealing with dog aggression issues?
Do you want to know how to fix virtually any dog behavior problem?
Or, perhaps you just want the best relationship that you can possibly have with your dog...

While we certainly aren't ready for any dog shows, this is one thing that has some very good pointers. Sit,Stay,Fetch is a great training guide!
Click Here! to get your copy.

Another source we are using to try to train Koge is Cesar's Way, by Cesar Millan. You've got to watch some episodes of "Dog Whisperer" to see some doggy miracles he performs. It is an interesting read in itself without the training tips. Who knows, you might be able to use some of the tips to control the people around you??

Here's a headshot of our new dog

Here's Koge playing with his new friend.

Koge's favorite place to go is the dog park. He likes playing with the big dogs.

Walmart, Pets Discount and our local vet are all very happy that we got a new dog. Just yesterday we bought:
1. a crate $55
2. dog pillow $6
3. Yard stake with chain $7
4. Chew toys and balls....consisting of 4-6 toys $18
5. Water bowl $5
6. Dog food, 3 kinds, because we don't know what he likes $22
7. Piddle pads, because we don't know if he is really housebroken $5
8. Dental care kit $4
9. Dog books $35 (for us to read, not him....I don't think he knows how to read yet)
10. Dog shampoo $3
11. Leash and collar $6

He came to us named Sampson....but we all didn't like the name so we changed it to Koge (ko-gay) because after all, he is a black dog. [what if we could do this with people we meet..."gee, I don't like calling you Justin, you look more like a Bill, so I'm just going to call you Bill from now on"]
He is pretty wild on the leash, always pulling off in one direction or another. This is going to be a test of skills learnt while watching "Dog Whisperer". He wants to chase poor Jenny. So far we have kept him confined to one room of the house. Taking him for lots of walks and visits to the dog park. This is definitely going to be a job getting him civilized.

D was killing time between appointments in town when he decided to go look at dogs at the Humane Society. He saw about six pitbull mix breeds, then saw this little guy. Quiet...but not too shy. Small....but not too small. He is about 20 months old and a terrier mix. He was brought to the dog pound by a family with 4 kids who are moving to the mainland. They got him from here when he was brought in as a stray in December 2005. So he had been with that family for 6 months. He looks like a pretty mellow dog and he likes to play ball. That is definitely a plus to live with C. D. put a hold on the dog and picked us up to look at the dog. The dog's profile claims he is house broken and that he is not destructive. The only concern is that he is noted to be aggressive to cats. Poor Jenny. Since C. had baseball practice today, we said we'd take the dog, but we would pick him up tomorrow. This will also give us time to buy a crate, food, leash, etc.
Also happens to be D's birthday today....was he out to get himself a dog for his own birthday??