The Pongo Fund

This pet food bank organization I found about a week ago is just AMAZING. Helping lower income families feed their pets with high quality food so they don't have to give up their family member in hard times. This warms my heart. Here is their information straight from their site.

The Pongo Fund Donate NOW

"Food banks ease the hunger of those in need. The people of Portland, and of Oregon, understand this and actively support and utilize the food banks in our communities. Portlanders also love their pets, both their own and the pets of others. It is this convergence of need and affection that is the root of Portland’s first food bank for pets.

But the hungry pets of the homeless are being joined more and more by the hungry pets of people who simply are having trouble making ends meet…middle-class folks pummeled by the economy, white-collar workers recently laid off; even seniors and students are not immune. And when families must choose what to cut from their grocery lists, pets often are among those that suffer most.
For families that can’t afford to feed their pets, the consequences are greater than just
an empty stomach. Many pets will be surrendered to already overburdened shelters, many more will be abandoned. Finding new homes for these pets are never guaranteed. Families will be torn apart, simply because there’s not enough money to buy pet food.

The pain touches every single family, regardless of where they call home. And during these challenging times, that could be any one of us. The Pongo Fund wants to help protect these animals from being abandoned or surrendered when their families cannot afford to feed them.
That’s why we’ve created The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank; Portland’s first dedicated pet food charitable resource. It’s a genuine gift for the entire community…lending a hand when times are tough by providing quality dog and cat food for the companion pets of anyone in need.
Because sometimes, a simple bowl of kibble is the force that keeps a family together and saves the lives of the animals they love."

Nature's Recipe Baked Treat RECALL!!!!

From abc7 News 

Online Article 

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Nature's Recipe is voluntarily recalling dog treats that could be contaminated with salmonella. 

The company announced on Saturday that it is recalling a limited supply of its "Nature's Recipe Oven Baked Biscuits with Real Chicken." The product was manufactured at its plant in Topeka, Kan., and distributed nationally - primarily through pet specialty retailers.
According to the company, the product has the potential to be contaminated with salmonella, which can affect animals eating the products and pose a risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products.
No pet or human illnesses have been reported, but Nature's Recipe officials suggest that pet owners monitor themselves and their dogs for signs of salmonella and seek medical care if symptoms worsen.

The treats involved in the recall were sold in 19-ounce stand-up re-sealable pouches. They are marked with the Lot Codes 2199TP or 2200TP and a UPC Code of 30521 51549. The pouches also have a "Best If Used By Date" stamp of "10 11 13" and "10 12 13." Nature's Recipe says the recall is out of precaution, advising consumers who bought the treats to discard them. For more information about the recall, consumers can go to www.naturesrecipe.com or call the consumer hotline, 24 hours a day, at 
(800) 237-3856.

~Nik 
www.bellaskaninetraining.com 
www.bnbdesignz.com

What is a Raw Diet and is it good for my dog?

What is  A Raw Diet?
A raw diet recreates the way your dogs ancestors have eaten in the wild for thousands of years. Left to their own devices, their typical daily diet, like that of their wild cousins wolves, would involve catching/ finding and eating another animal. A raw diet returns your dog to this more natural and healthy form of nutrition, as if they had hunted and caught their own "perfect" dinner.

When a carnivore eats an herbivore (plant and grass eating animal) like a rabbit or a deer, the carnivore eats some meat, some bone, some organ meats (liver, heart, kidney, etc.), and a small amount of green vegetation contained in the herbivore's digestive tract. These ingredients are the five main food groups of a good raw diet.

Raw Diets are a healthy alternative to the dry, cooked dog food. However not everybody will agree or even feed their dogs raw meat. I myself do not because my male dog Buddy has slight food aggressions and having that raw meat with blood brings out the most basic canine in any dog and that can cause some aggression issues in our home. For me its just a safety hazard.

I personally believe feeding a mix of Raw and Natural Dry Dog food is most beneficial for any dog at any size. And here's the kicker, getting raw food is a bit cheaper than the dry foods, especially if you are feeding a nice mix of dry and raw.

Raw diets are HIGH protein and low grain. In that case you will need to exercise them more so they can get work that fat into muscle or they could put on unwanted weight. Their coats will be cleaner and will shin with gusto. Their stool will have virtually no smell and they will enjoy the true canine in themselves. The con can be the salmonella your dogs could eat. Salmonella resides in chicken and other raw meats. To keep the salmonella infection from occurring is to feed the raw meats semi frozen and in MODERATION. Always mix dry kibble along as a feeding source.  

If you are interested in introducing the Raw Diet to your canines, do your research as to the BEST meats for theirs specific breed and make sure you mix in the dry food that will give them the other nutrients they will need. Such as fruits, veggies and anti-oxidants.

Form your own opinion about the Raw Diet, its' not a must, but it is healthy.

~Nik
www.bellaskaninetraining.com
www.bnbdesignz.com

Why Wheat, Corn, Soy and By-Product Meal is BAD for your dogs to eat

I am a FIRM believer in All Natural Dog food. It is what I feed my dogs and have for the past year and I have seen such HUGE improvements in their over all performance, skin, coat, teeth, weight and yes even stool. I don't have children so I'm very particular with my precious babies. I want them to have the BEST and be at their BEST. I watch everything that goes on with them even slight changes. I keep on top of their health because I want them to live a very happy and long life with myself, my Love and our future children.

Wheat~
Is the most common allergy for dogs, Wheat and Wheat by-product meal. My Bella has an allergy to it and I found that out the hard way. Here's WHY - Dogs can not digest wheat and it has been studied that wheat causes epileptic seizures and celiac disease in dogs. Wheat IS a Gluten and unfortunately its cheap!!! That's why grocery store dog food brands use wheat as a main ingredient. However it is a filler which allows them to use LESS REAL MEAT in the ingredients.

Corn~
Similar to wheat, corn is actually HARDER for your dogs to digest. It passes right through their system, no nutrients are picked up and you then see why your dog is still hungry after feeding. It has been proven that Corn causes swelling, bloating and other major health issues in dogs after long use. Corn goes so deep as to even the corn fed chickens (which by the way is bad for chickens as well) that end up as the partial meat in grocery brand dog food that causes the health issues.
Here's another disturbing FACT: Corn is highly susceptible to mold! Yes MOLD! So basically you could be feeding your dog MOLD. In all corn is the WORST ingredient you could be feeding your dog. Just like Wheat it is also CHEAP and usually apart of the first 5 ingredients in grocery brand dog food.

Soy~
Although soy can be digested by dogs, its gives them gas. And I'm talking ROOM CLEARING GAS!!! You know that gas so bad you make the choice in keeping your dogs outside cause of the smell?
Soy also causes bloating and here's a TIP: Bloating can kill you dog.
If you didn't know, soy naturally contains plant estrogens which act like the hormonal animal estrogen's and can interfere with reproduction and normal growth in dogs. And guess what? Just like Wheat and Corn, Soy is also used as a protein in grocery brand dog foods. Yep its CHEAP.....

By-Product Meal~
So what IS by-product meal?
**By-Product meal is a high-protein commodity used as a major component in some pet foods. It is made from grinding clean, rendered parts of poultry carcasses and can contain bones, offal and undeveloped eggs, contains feathers that are unavoidable in the processing of the poultry parts. Poultry by-product meal quality and composition can change from one batch to another.

Basically it's taking any form of the protein (mainly chicken in grocery brand dog foods) putting it through a grinder, feathers and all, processing it intensely, slightly cooking it then serving it to your dogs. Gross huh?

Dogs need protein from real MEAT and FISH sources like deboned cage free chicken, turkey, lamb, venison, duck and deboned salmon and white fish. (Fish proteins are used for a lean diet for dogs to prevent obesity)

What are grocery brand dog foods and are you feeding them these?
Pedigree
ALL Purina brands
Iams
Kibble's N Bits
Bil-Jac

What are BETTER options?
ANYTHING THAT IS MADE WITH OUT
Wheat, Corn and Soy
Blue Buffalo
Wellness
Nutro Ultra
Natural Balance
Merrick
Halo
Nature's Variety
Solid Gold

Just because a dog food is less expensive than a more nutritionally based product, doesn't make it cheaper in the long run. If you dog eats foods that are not easily digestible, and it causes allergies or other health issues, there will be trouble. Vet bills aren't cheap and after trying to figure out the cause of any problems the food may have caused your pet. You'll pay for the treatment to resolve the issues or ongoing effects. Start taking a look at the side of the bag where there are ingredients. If the first ingredient isn't the MAIN protein, its BAD.
Plus picking up less poop is ALWAYS better.

**Quoted from Wikipedia
~Nik
www.bellaskaninetraining.com
www.bnbdesignz.com