Whether you feed your dog fresh meat or home prepared food as your primary food source, if you’re giving ANY commercial petfood to your dog, the chances are that you’re cutting your dog’s life short. Add to this the toxicity of most veterinary-prescribed and over the counter drugs, including your dog’s vaccinations, cortisone (given for a multitude of problems), and parasite treatments (worms, fleas, ticks, mites and so on), and you’ve got a chemical cocktail which is causing premature ageing and death in companion animals all over the industrialized world.

Does it have to be this way?

Pollutants affect us all to some degree, but there ARE a number of steps that you can take to minimise your dog’s exposure to toxic compounds that affect your dog’s health and longevity. There ARE chemical-free dog food programs. There ARE natural alternatives to most toxic drugs routinely given to your dog. And you CAN reduce the pollutants and chemicals that your dog is exposed to on a daily basis.

(c) 2005, Brigitte Smith, Healthy Happy Dogs

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Brigitte Smith is a dog lover with a special interest in natural health for dogs. For your free dog health report, click here. For info on detoxifying your dog’s system, click here.

First of all your dog needs exercise. If the dog is lying around all day long then dog constipation is more than likely. Give him less food when he does not move much. This brings us to the second most important aspect, dog food. The wrong food can easily cause dog constipation or other symptoms.

Choose the food which is appropriate for your dog, its age and weight. Not all pet food is made similar. In fact there are some pretty bad pet foods out there. You should look out for quality food and also give him fresh food from time to time. Instead of giving him one large amount of food, feed your dog twice a day instead. For constipation is is recommended you increases the amount of fiber in the food.

Stress can be another reason for dog constipation. If your dog has to live outside then weather conditions, cold or heat can cause constipation. A dog is an animal which does not like to be alone but always near you or with other dogs. This can cause stress too.

Before changing the diet for your dog you should also talk with your animal doctor. He knows much more about pet food, especially when it comes to dogs. He can also make a proper diagnosis which helps to find other reasons for your dogs constipation.

Unfortunately it is not always about food and exercise. Sometimes the problem is bigger. Dog constipation can also be caused by bacteria, parasites or viruses for example. Also poisoned food can be a cause. Here the veterinarian can help as well.

Your dog can not really care about himself so you have to do is. One of the best things to do is to check his excrements on a daily basis. While this does not sound like fun, it gives you important information about your dogs situation. It gives you early warning signs when something is wrong.

The ideal dog poop does not smell much, is moist but can easily be taken away without breaking apart. Any major changes in your dog’s poop can indicate an upcoming disease or – in the best case – are just a sign for you to change your dog’s nutrition.

There are many good dog food recipes which you can try out to make your dog healthier. On my web site I have some tips about this. One final word of warning though. When you choose high quality dog food then supplements should not be necessary. They could cause imbalances and also lead to dog constipation.

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Learn how to stop dog constipation at www.DogsConstipation.com

The most common reason dog’s continuously lick, itch and scratch is fleas, ticks and mites, which is also an extremely problem to treat. Fleas can cause unnecessary discomfort for a dog as it a simple treatment to prevent them. If untreated, fleas can also cause anemia and tapeworms.

With so many different choices to protect our pets from fleas and ticks, veterinarians still see many dogs with flea problems on a daily basis. Spot treatments are the most common and seem to be the most effective way to control fleas, ticks and mites. Avoid dog skin problems caused by fleas and ticks by using spot treatments regularly, or as directed by the manufacturer or your vet.

Canine Allergies

My Black Lab “Lady” suffered with dog skin allergies since we brought her home as a rescued puppy over 11 years ago. Over the years, I have learned that allergies can be just as difficult to pinpoint in dogs as they are in humans. . Allergies occur when the body’s immune system is weakened, which can be caused by improper or insufficient nutrition. Feeding home made organic dog food with added nutritional supplements or the top of the line organic dog food is the simplest way to determine if the allergies are caused immune defeciency. Giving a higher nutritional organic diet is what stopped my Lady’s allergies altogether. The continuous paw licking stopped completely beacause her immune system was increased, which in turn caused her allergies to be eliminated. There was also a drastic improvement is her overall health, well being and activity level.

Seasonal Allergies

If you notice your dog chewing and scratching more in the mornings after he/she comes in from outside, then it’s possible he’s/she’s sensitive to pollen, mold, ragweed or other environmental factors, just as we are. Also, allergies can include a sensitivity to dust. So, if dusting the house is considered low on your priority list, yet you notice that your dog is fine until he/she comes into the house, then it’s possible that he is sensitive to dust-mites. Environmental allergens are usually treated with anti-inflammatories or other presciption medication from you vet.

Food Allergies

Chewing the feet can be an indicator of food allergies. Although food allergies are less common in dogs, they can become more severe. I believe either feeding an all natural organic premium dog food or using recipes and making your dog’s meals will help eliminate food allergies. Don’t give a large variety to start with, and slowly introduce any new foods over a period of several weeks to see if the chewing increases or decreases. Keeping a careful watch of what your pet eats, and noting any changes in behaviour shortly after the change, makes all the difference in catching an unknown food allergy.

So What Really is The Cause?

Switching to either a premium organic dog food or making your own home made dog food should be the first course of action when trying to determine the cause of dog allergies or incessant licking and scratching. A certification of over 70% organic products used should be on the label to ensure you are buying a high quality, premium food for your dog, with the first ingredient being meat, of course. An organic certification of 95% (of which there are a few) is equal the human grade food. This is something that definitely will not harm your pet, and is the easiest and least expensive way to start figuring out what is causing the licking and allergies. Remember, just because your dog doesn’t do well on lamb doesn’t mean that he won’t do well on a chicken based food. The premium organic dog food that I buy for my Lady is specifically marked for dogs with skin allergies, and this is what I believe cured her itchy skin problem. This had been ongoing for years, with medical treatments of prednisone, antihistamines, and costly vet bills for expensive allergy testing and after all that, the diagnosis was inconclusive. The real key is to observe your dog’s patterns.

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Animal and pet lovers will find important information to extend their pet life along with tips, recipes and many reasons for feeding an organic dog food here: www.recipes4gourmetdogs.com

Your Flint River Ranch distributor can tell you all about the advantages of a dog food that is natural, about how raw dog food going into a product will give your best friend better digestive health and that natural dog food is the best food to give your pet, because your pet was designed to eat foods from nature. You can get these qualities when you shop for Flint River products, at Flint they know that your pet is an animal and that it was born to eat certain foods found in nature, just as with you and I. The River Ranch team wants your pet to be as healthy as they can be, and their products are especially designed to offer the right caloric and fat balance to enable them to have a well balanced diet and good digestive health to mimic what they were meant to eat in nature. They even have healthful snacks for your pets because, just like humans, our pets do a little snacking now and then, and it pays off to have the right foods to sate that craving. Healthy eating habits are just as important for those of us with four legs.

No pet is made the same, and health issues always arise with animals, just as with humans. With so many advances in research you can find several options to support animal health, but sometimes preventative measures on a daily basis can help keep from having to pursue remedies for severe problems gone unchecked. Any Flint River Ranch distributor can tell you that there are holistic options when you are choosing the variety of FRR foods for your pet. Holistic pet food means that your pet will find comfort from common pet ailments through the natural course of their diet. Your overweight or aging companion will appreciate the gently balanced supplements that can be found in Flint River Ranch pet food varieties. Flint Rive Ranch knows how important that it is for you to provide a quality pet food at a reasonable price, so the nutrient dense formulas reduce waste, enabling you to get more for your spending money when ordering your all natural pet food, and when you’re talking about your pet’s well being, all natural is the way to go.

The reason that you purchase food for your pet is to care for them; they are members of your family and your spiritual caretakers. The link that man has with their pets is one that extends beyond company, they are companions, and they are for some the only social support in their lives. When you care for your pet, you should treat them as the important family member that they are and insist on quality and value to enable them to live a long and happy life with you. To give a pet the best means to give them Flint River Ranch when it’s time to eat, the result of giving them a quality food that cares for them from the inside makes their life more pleasant on the outside.

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Safe-T-Pet is the author of this article on Flint River Ranch. Safe-T-Pet is dedicated to providing you with only the finest in pet supply products and is proud to be an independent distributor of Flint River Ranch pet foods (distributor #353K). Find more information about this Distributor at compare dog food brandshere.