Whole Dog News

Good Dog, Smart Dog
By SARAH KERSHAW The New York Times

The matter of what exactly goes on in the mind of a dog is a tricky one, and until recently much of the research on canine intelligence has been met with large doses of skepticism. But over the last several years a growing body of evidence, culled from small scientific studies of dogs’ abilities to do things like detect cancer or seizures, solve complex problems (complex for a dog, anyway), and learn language suggests that they may know more than we thought they did.

Read the entire article HERE

Wysong has recalled some of their dry dog food due to mold.

Established in 1979, Wysong Corporation is one of the true pioneers of natural pet foods and holistic pet health care & nutrition.

While Wysong is a producer of “Natural and Holistic” pet food, this re-call only helps make the point in my recent article: Kibble Is Kibble Is Still Kibble

“The following batches of Wysong Canine Diets Maintenance™ and Senior™ have shown above acceptable moisture levels and may contain mold.

Wysong Maintenance™: lot #: 090617
Wysong Maintenance™: lot #: 090624
Wysong Maintenance™: lot #: 090706
Wysong Maintenance™: lot #: 090720
Wysong Senior™: lot #: 090623

We ask that if you have received any of these Wysong products to please not feed them, and contact Wysong for product replacement.

Email: Wysong@Wysong.net
Subject: Product Replacement

Alternatively, please return or exchange at the store from which you purchased the product. Credit will be issued via our Distributors to the Retailer.

We apologize for the inconvenience.” Wysong

I was told the notice was sent to distributors about a week ago. Information about the recall was just posted to their website yesterday.

September 30, 2009

Nutro Products is pulling some of its puppy food off store shelves because of a production error, ConsumerAffairs.com has learned.

A Nutro customer representative said the company is taking this action because a worker’s plastic hard hat was “sucked” into some machinery on Monday and the bags of puppy food may have plastic in them.

Nutro’s representative said the puppy food involved in this action — distributed to PETCO and PetSmart stores in California and Arizona.

Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/09/nutro_puppy_mix.html#ixzz0Sd8oLrUH

Flower Essences For Our Dogs
by Dr Jeannie Thomason

Flower essences are liquid drops made from individual flower petals, whose vibrational energy (or essence) is transferred to water by a special process. The drops are then taken internally or applied topically. They are not drugs, vitamins or aromatherapy, they are specially prepared extracts of the flower of certain plants that work through energy fields to heal stress and disease from the inside on the vibrational level where energy actully precedes physical manifestations of health.

Flower Essence formulas are designed to harmonize, nourish and enhance healing; they are on the cutting edge of energetic healing. Supporting the emotional balance that underlies true health. Flower essences are useful in restoring harmony and vitality in systems thrown out of order by disease conditions, life changes, emotional events, stress, accidents, or surgeries. They nourish and energize the body’s innate capacity to heal by facilitating ease and re-establishing balance. Read the rest

We dog owners have known how smart our dogs really are for a long time now but finally Science is catching up.

Dogs are smarter than toddlers, IQ tests show Border Collies and other bright canines can learn up to 250 words
By Jeanna Bryner
Live Science
updated 8:45 a.m. PT, Sun., Aug 9, 2009

The canine IQ test results are in: Even the average dog has the mental abilities of a 2-year-old child.

The finding is based on a language development test, revealing average dogs can learn 165 words (similar to a 2-year-old child), including signals and gestures, and dogs in the top 20 percent in intelligence can learn 250 words.

And the smartest? The Story continues HERE

Allergies are becoming increasingly common and troublesome in dogs. Why?
Allergies and their reactions are actually a symptom of toxic overload. An allergic reaction is simply the body’s way of responding to a toxin or contaminant overload. The toxins or contaminants have built up in body to the place that the body can no longer tolerate them and most cases are no longer able to eliminate them from the body. In other words it is the body’s way of saying, “No more, please!”

Interestingly, chemical residue buildup in the body may come from both natural and artificial sources. Things like natural or artificial preservatives, fillers and flavorings in the food you are feeding, environmental pollutants, vaccines, medications, chemical wormers, and even non species specific foods such as grains and vegetables.

80% of chronic diseases are caused by toxins in our dog’s environment that have built up in their bodies. Read the rest

Alternative/Natural Remedies for Pets

Yes, for pets! the use of Aromatherapy, Homeopathy, Herbs & Energy Work are all effective on animals.

I have recently had people contact me that have been using alternative health care products and a proper diet for themselves and their family for quite some time but were just not aware that natural remedies could be used on their pets. I get a myriad of questions such as which natural remedies can be used on dogs, cats, horses, birds, and rodents? Is it true that essential oils really kill cats?
Can I use these essential oils on my budgie? My dog has an infection – is there a natural remedy that can help?

First of all, I want to make it clear that while natural remedies and alternative health care are effective and safe for animals that they should never been seen as the “magic bullet” and cure alls but rather should be always be used in conjunction with a species appropriate diet/proper nutrition which is really the corner stone of health. Natural remedies should be seen and used as support for the immune system, aiding in balancing and enhancing the body’s own innate healing means.

Success Stories Abound
I have seen first hand and have received stories about animals that have been successfully treated with natural remedies: Read the rest

Survival suits this dog just fine

Everyone loves a happy ending and I wanted to share this one with you all!

July 09, 2009
By Mark Freeman
Mail Tribune
776-4470
mfreeman@mailtribune.com

AGNESS — Pete Pollard walked up the remote trail through the Lower Rogue River Canyon with the melancholy of a man who knows his one missed oar-stroke killed his daughter’s dog.

The day before, the 57-year-old Talent man miss-rowed while rafting the wild Rogue’s Blossom Bar, pitching himself, two others and two canines into the river for a perilous bounce downstream.

All were rescued within minutes of the accident — except for Ali, a 15-pound Boston terrier. Now, a full day later, it was time to recover the last victim.

“I was looking in the eddies for his body,” Pollard says.

Then a twig snapped just off the trail. And another. “Oh, geez,” Pollard thought. “Now I gotta deal with a bear.”

But out of the bushes popped Ali, still sporting his blue life vest.
Read the “rest of the story” HERE

Can A Dog Treat Be Healthy?

Have you ever read the ingredients on your dog’s favorite treat to see what is really in there?

Is it possible that dog treats could actually be causing health problems that you’re not even aware of?

Just like the multi-billion dollar pet food industry, from grocery stores to pet boutiques to even your local veterinarian, they all sell delicious, mouth-watering, paw licking treats aimed at enticing YOU!

Your dog is attracted to the scent and taste of a food item, not the shape or color or nutritional claims, and certainly not to a cute little name wrapped in a glitzy package. The leading brands of pet treats – all sell on creative marketing, bag graphics, brand identity or attractive pricing. Are they worth the price???
NO!

The sharp rise in pet illness may be attributed not only the processed food you feed your dogs or the vaccines we pump into them but also, to tasty treats that contain unhealthful ingredients. Read the rest