Keeping Your Dog Happy and Healthy

Owning a dog can be very rewarding, and of course it’s very important to ensure they stay fit and healthy. Some tips on helping your dog maintaining the best health possible include:

• regular exercise,
• using appropriate, and nutritional, foods, and
• well trained well to ensure that they understand how to behave (not unlike helping children maintain healthy behaviour as well).

Although everything may seem very daunting in the beginning if you fully understand what is required of you, your relationship with your dog will be rewarded!

Proper dog training is very important with any dog to ensure that they are well behaved at, and away from, home.

Most people believe dog training is merely an obedient requirement, but it has a health component as well. Helping your dog know how to behave around other animals, other people, and as well as how to behave in certain situations (crossing the street, the heel command for example), adds of course to the mental and physical health of your dog. Again, it’s not different then raising a child to be a well adjusted member of their community!

As your dog excels with training, he or she will be far happier and healthier.

Your dog’s dietary needs are also very important, and discovering the best foods to feed them is very important.

Dogs require a varied diet to ensure that they remain strong and healthy. A mix of different foods in your dog’s diet is a good start, again just like you and I. (As well, they will become bored with the same food day in and day out. Imagine having to eat the same dry boring foods every day yourself!)

You may be surprised with the ingredients that go into pet food, although as we see more information on this in the news is becoming more apparent. Spending a little more for quality is certainly appropriate here. Just like a fast food hamburger can’t be expected to have the same nutritional value as a $7 hamburger, it’s the same story with low-priced dog food.

Cheaper dog food will typically have less nutrients and vitamins, and more ‘filler’, which may cause your dog to lack in the nutrition required to maintain a healthy, balanced diet.

It is also suggested that you do not feed your dog ‘human’ food and scraps, as they will often contain high levels of salt as well as other items not appropriate for pets. Quite frankly, human food is simply not designed for dogs, and can make them overweight and ill.

Along with a great exercise program, the right foods, and the right training both you and your dog will be very happy. Spending time to understand exactly what your dog needs is essential, and will reward both you and your constant companion!

About the author: PupDogTraining.com is one of the top websites focusing on how to train your dog, choosing the right puppy for your family, and general dog health.

Pet Health Questions on How to Perform an at Home Wellness Exam

 The best thing you can do for your dog’s health  by far is to make sure they have themost nutritious food possible in their diet. I am sure that is the first thing you might do for yourself is to improve your diet and it is imparative that this is done first and foremost. As surprising as it sounds most pet owners don’t think of this. 

You can find the most nutritious and healthy food for your dog here:

             All Natural Dog Food Recommended by the Health Ranger

After that is taken care of, then it is very important to know how to give you dog or pet a home wellness exam that is graciously shared with us from Dr. Mercola’s website….

Regular at-home physical exams can help you learn what is normal for your pet’s body, and therefore allow you to detect when something is not normal.

While it’s still important to take your pet for a professional exam at your vet’s office at least once a year, you can keep watch on your pet’s health in between visits by getting to know what’s normal, and what’s not, for your individual pet.

  Buy Wholesome Dog Food Here

Steps for Performing an At-Home Pet Exam

Perform the exam in a relaxed environment when your pet is not stressed or excited, or after an exercise session or nap (when they’re likely to be sleepy and ready to relax). Put them on your lap, start with the tip of their nose, and work your way to the tip of their tail.

First check the nose for debris and take note of whether it is wet or dry. Your pet’s nose will not always be wet, it will typically vary from moist to dry throughout the day, depending on your pet’s body temperature, activity level and hydration.

Then, take a look to see whether there is abnormal eye discharge. Again, you will likely know what is normal for your pet. For instance if your cat or dog never gets eye discharge and suddenly has it, it’s a sign that there could be a problem.

Next check whether your pet’s pupils are symmetrical and look at the whites of their eyes. Red sclera (the part of the eye that is normally white) could mean inflammation of the eyes.

If your pet is not accustomed to having its mouth examined, slowly acclimate your pet to facial massages so that you can eventually check their mouth, gums and teeth. When you can, check inside their mouth for lesions, swelling, and bad breath. Their gums should be pink, their teeth free of tartar and plaque, their tongue clear and the roof of their mouth clean and free from debris.

Next, check the jaw line to see if it feels normal. Check the ears for debris, odor and cleanliness. Brush back the hair and look at the skin and coat. Check for excessive flakiness, lumps and bumps on the sides of the spinal cord, and evaluate muscle tone and weight. If you feel your pet is carrying extra weight I recommend addressing it by increasing activity and feeding a species-appropriate diet (a meat-based, carb-free living food diet).

Look at their claws and the pads of their feet, there should be no debris between their toes. Check for heat and swelling over your pet’s body, and test the range of motion of the joints; do the joints move freely, without resistance or difficulty?

Gently Palpate their belly to look for lumps and notice if your pet seems to experience discomfort. This is a good time to also gently check both mammary chains (do this for male dogs, too). Even if you don’t know the names of all the parts you are touching, if you examine your pet regularly you will begin to know what is normal for your companion. When there are changes you will notice them quite quickly because you are familiar with the terrain of his or her body. Also examine your pet’s bottom for cleanliness.

  All Natural Dog Food Recommended by the Health Ranger

Start a Body Chart for Your Pet

If you notice an unusual lump, bump, wart or so on during your home exam and you don’t think it warrants immediate attention, it’s a good idea to start a body chart for your pet.

Simply draw a simple diagram of your pet’s body and note whatever you’ve found in the appropriate place on the picture. Be sure to include exactly where it was found, when you found it, how big it is and whether you’ve noticed it getting worse.

If you notice a lump that has gotten worse a day or two later, that warrants a trip to your vet.

Remember, in order for you to know what’s abnormal about your pet you first need to know what’s normal. Performing regular at-home exams is a simple and very effective way for you to keep a close eye on your pet’s health.

Pet Food Contamination Secrets

 Pet Food Insider Secrets

Pet foods typically contain a good balance of proteins, carbohydrates and fats in addition to vitamins and minerals all with the purpose of providing good nutrition. It is also important to note that they may also contain different additives like artificial or natural preservatives and colorings. Like humans, dogs do well when fed a well balanced diet containing the right amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. It is because of this that many people now prefer premium dog food that have all natural and human grade ingredients.

By using a search engine for your research, you can find a lot of websites that provide you the details that you need to know on the dog food brand that you are interested in. This will give you an idea on the things that you have to keep an eye on in the dog food ingredients label.

Now that you have decided to switch to an all natural dog food, you will want to make sure it is the best food available for your pet. You will want to find food with properly balanced nutrition. Also, you will want the food to be easily digested, with a high amount of vitamins and minerals.

It is important to your pet’s health that you feed them the finest food available. However, understanding the ingredients labels can be difficult. Prior to feeding your dog again, go over these tips for finding the best food for your pet’s well-being.

A pet’s health and well-being is enhanced by quality, nutritional food ingredients.  Natural dog foods , for instance, should not include unhealthy preservatives, fillers or additives. Therefore, it is important to find a balanced and complete pet food which meets or exceeds guidelines prescribed by the AAFCO. Pet foods that are easy to digest as well as in concentrated form often cost less, while also minimizing the cleanup of excreted messes.

Is your dog looking for food that is made from all-natural, whole ingredients and contains essential vitamins and minerals? Flint River Ranch dog food meets all these criteria. The dog food they offer is made from slowly, oven-baked natural ingredients and formulated to exceed a dog’s nutrition requirements. This premium dog food is great for all stages of your dog’s life.

Be aware that if you decide to change your dog’s food it is important to switch gradually, as it is easier on the dogs digestive system. The response to the new food will generally be better if you gradually increase the amount of new food. Each change should be slow with several days between changes. All in all it may take a month or more to change over to a new brand to help avoid digestive upsets.

 Find out the TRUTH at Dog Food Secrets

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As a pet owner these days, you are probably more concerned about the commercial food and biscuits your pet eats as there has been lots of bad press about it recently. Though some commercials promote their dog foods as safe, it may not be so as they generally mix in artificial flavoring … Pet food articles and resources. Pet food recall, halo pet food and pet food storage containers information.

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Stated recently that “We see the pet food recall as a warning sign for the government that they need to do more to protect the food supply,” “It could easily happen to an ingredient used in human food as well.”

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Peanut Product Recalls: Salmonella Typhimurium

In January, the recall list was expanded to include some pet-food products that contain peanut paste made by PCA. Salmonella can affect animals, and humans who handle contaminated pet-food products also are at risk.

Pet-food recall: First veterinary case surfaces – DVM

One tested positive for serogroup B Salmonella, the strain implicated in the current outbreak, as did the package of treats submitted by the pet owners. The state veterinarian’s office says anyone with treats included on the recall list.

Update: Salmonella Recall List for February 26th

US Food Safety’s blog will list the current list of food products. Updates are below. The comprehensive list of 2500+ products are at http://www.usfoodsafety.com/peanut.html. As of Thursday February 26, 2009, 7:00AM Eastern time.