Great resources with information to help you keep your pet healthy and happy.
Pet Food Facts Article by Tina Perry - PDF
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Recommended Dog Diet
Dog Training Principles
Recommended Cat Diet
Download the Cat Diet PDF
*Please make any switch to a new food over a 3 to 4 week time period!!! GO VERY SLOWLY!!!*
Cats are strict carnivores so they need a diet that is primarily made up of protein, some fat with a low carbohydrate content. Think of the Atkins diet. Cats should NOT be eating grains; rice, wheat, corn, barley, etc. They are not biologically designed to digest this kind of food. So we came up with a recommended diet to put your kitty on:
You must feed a multivitamin with good mineral content if you are going to home cook. We recommend a very palatable liquid multivitamin by Vetri-science. We carry it with us or you can purchase a good quality product at one of the natural pet food stores that we recommend on our referral list. Don’t just go to a generic pet store; many of the products sold there are sadly deficient and will not provide your cat with the supplements that he or she needs.
- Feed human quality meats: broil or bake beef, poultry or fish. Pork can be too fatty and cause pancreatitis. No salty or sweet lunch meats. That’s junk food for your cat!
- Add veggies to your mixture: about 3/4 meat to 1/4 veggies. Preferably fresh or frozen. If you cook the vegetables with meat, it will possess the flavor that they love. Cats need greens: spinach, kale, broccoli and the like. Maintain a variety. A feral or barn cat will periodically nibble on grasses and they eat the stomach contents of prey animals, so this is an important component of a healthy feline diet.
- If you aren’t willing to home cook, canned food tends to be a healthier choice overall than dry food. They usually contain fewer grain products. I know that’s the very opposite statement that you’ve heard from most veterinarians in the past, but research conducted in the field of nutrition recently has changed my viewpoint considerably. Most dry food is bound together by grains. This has been proven to cause obesity, Diabetes Mellitus and cancer in cats because it is so unnatural for them to eat it. Restoring a more balanced and healthy diet usually causes cats to lose weight, gain muscle and either come off of insulin entirely if they are diabetic, or at least greatly diminish the dosage that they need. You will rarely see a diabetic barn cat unless the owners free feed with dry food!
There are 3 stores that carry the recommended foods, please refer to the referral list. They carry 4 brands that we recommend, #1 being our favorite on down the list (based on their list of ingredients):
- Wellness (canned)
- Innova Evo (dry) *
- Wysong (need multivitamin)
- Pet Guard
* Innova Evo contains no grains, so it’s a nice substitute for owners that don’t like to feed canned food.
Always choose a Pet Store Brand versus a Grocery store brand if you are unable to get to a natural foods store.
- Pet Store examples would be Iams, Eukanuba, Science diet, Nutro, etc.
- Grocery store brand examples would be Fancy Feast, Frisky’s, Purina, etc.
- Generic is the worst: Safeway, Giant, etc.
*** Read labels for the most quality protein content and least amount of grains. ***
Recommended Dog Diet
Download the Dog Diet PDF
*Please make any switch to a new food over a 3 to 4 week time period!!! GO VERY SLOWLY!!!*Dogs are omnivores and need good quality protein, a moderate amount of fat and select carbohydrates. Vegetables are much healthier for your dog than grains (Rice, corn, wheat). Think of the Atkins diet! Here are our recommendations:
- Feed human quality food: broil or bake beef, poultry or fish. Pork can be too fatty and cause pancreatitis. No salty or sweet lunch meats. That’s junk food for your dog! Add veggies to your mixture: about 2/3 meat to 1/3 veggies, preferably fresh or frozen. If you cook the vegetables with meat, it will possess the flavor that they love. Dogs need greens: spinach, kale, broccoli and the like. Maintain a variety. Wolves, foxes and coyotes periodically nibble on grasses and they eat the stomach contents of prey animals, so this is an important component of a healthy canine diet.
- You must feed a multivitamin if you are going to home cook. We recommend a very palatable multivitamin by Vetri-science. We carry it with us or you can purchase a good quality product at one of the natural pet food stores that we recommend on our referral list. Don’t just go to a generic pet store; many of the products sold there are sadly deficient and will not provide your dog with the supplements that he or she needs.
- Flax Seed Oil provides essentials oils. Very small breed: 1/2 tsp/day, med. breed: 1 tsp, very large breeds: 1 tbsp. Keep refrigerated and introduce slowly to avoid diarrhea. Some pets like garlic and a small amount of salt. Play with spices to find what your pet prefers. Like us, they relish variety!
- You can make large quantities and freeze this concoction. Partition it into meal size baggies for convenience.
- If you aren’t willing to home cook, canned food tends to be a healthier choice overall than dry food. They usually contain fewer grain products. I know that’s the very opposite statement that you’ve heard from most veterinarians in the past, but research conducted in the field of nutrition has changed my viewpoint considerably. Most dry food is bound together by grains.
There are3 stores that carry the recommended foods, please refer to the referral list. They carry 4 brands that we recommend, #1 being our favorite on down the list (based on their list of ingredients):
- Wellness (canned)
- Innova Evo (dry) *
- Wysong (need multivitamin)
- Pet Guard
* Innova Evo contains no grains, so it’s a nice substitute for owners that don’t like to feed canned food.
Always choose a Pet Store Brand versus a Grocery store brand if you are unable to get to a natural foods store.
- Pet Store examples would be Iams, Eukanuba, Science diet, Nutro, etc.
- Grocery store brand examples would be Fancy Feast, Frisky’s, Purina, etc.
- Generic is the worst: Safeway, Giant, etc.
*** Read labels for the best quality protein content and least amount of grains. ***
Dog Training Principles
Download the Dog Training Principles PDF
- Be consistent; if a behavior is unacceptable, it should never be permitted.
- Always follow a correction by demonstrating the preferred behavior and praise him for doing the right thing.
- If your dog challenges you, you must always win. Escalate your correction until you get the desired response.
- Never give a command that cannot be enforced. For example, don’t call your dog off leash until he is 100% reliable on a long leash.
- Never call your dog to punish him. If necessary, go get him. If he gets a food reward and plentiful praise every time he comes to you, you’ll have a very reliable recall before long.
- Gently handle your dog’s feet, ears, tail and open his mouth daily. Make sure there is no place on your pet that is forbidden to be touched.
- Never play the tug of war game with your dog. This reinforces the sense of their power in their jaws. Play fetch instead and insist that they drop the ball for you.
- Make sure that you can take a food bowl, bone or toy away from your dog without him threatening to bite you. If necessary, feed his meal to him by hand and make him work for it.
- Socialize your dog with people as much as possible. Have friends give treats and make him perform tricks to earn them. Don’t socialize your puppy with other dogs until he is four months of age and has had all of his vaccinations.
- Give a command once and then make sure he does it the first time. Otherwise, you will teach your dog to ignore your commands.
- Vary the routine; don’t just repeat the same sequences of exercises again and again.
- Don’t just train your dog in your yard or house. Make use of public parks, parking lots and school yards.
- Don’t avoid distractions; utilize them! You want your dog to be obedient under all circumstances.
- Make training fun for your dog as well as yourself and always end on a positive note.