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Archives for April 2015

Heartworm Awareness Month

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Deposit Photos | @feedough
Deposit Photos | @feedough

Although almost over, April is National Heartworm Awareness month. Just recently I had someone say to me,

I don’t give my dog heartworm medication because it’s full of pesticides. I’ll just treat it if he gets infected.

Yes, I’m serious.

If you have seen a dog infected with heartworms, you know that the damage is real and it is horrifying to see a dog suffer. Heartworms are not something to take lightly. The foot-long worms live in the heart, lungs, and blood vessels causing:

  • severe lung disease
  • heart failure
  • artery & organ damage
  • decreased health and quality of life (even after treatment)
  • death

How common is heartworm infection?

via American Heartworm Society
Source | American Heartworm Society

As you can see, the south has much higher rates of heartworm infection. Even if you live in a “white” area, protecting your dog is still a must. Stray dogs, coyotes, and foxes can be infected and transmit the disease. Currently, we live in an area with very low rates of heartworm, but I am not willing to take the risk.

How are heartworms transmitted?

The following image is a great guide to understanding heartworm infection.

Source | American Heartworm Association
Source | American Heartworm Society

Signs of Heartworm Disease

When first infected, the signs of heartworm disease are minimal or even nonexistent. However, as the disease progresses, signs become more pronounced. Signs include:

  • persistent cough
  • increased fatigue
  • decreased appetite
  • weight loss
  • swollen belly

Heartworm infection is a serious problem that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Please remember to give your dog monthly heartworm preventative. For more information, visit the American Heartworm Society.

National Pet ID Week

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National Pet ID Week

If there’s one thing I’m absolutely terrified of happening, it’s the possibility that Mauja and Atka could get lost or stolen. Preparedness will go a long way in ensuring your beloved pet will make his/her way home. National Pet ID Week is a great opportunity to check all of your pet’s information for accuracy. Here are a few things to check and update over the next week.

Collar & ID Tag

Your pet’s tag should contain the following information:

  • Pet’s name
  • Your name
  • Telephone Number
  • Home address (Personally, I don’t add my address to their tags. With frequent military moves, phone number is the most stable and reliable method of reaching me.)
  • Pet’s with medical issues that require medication or special care should have an extra tag with this information.
Microchip

Don’t forget to frequently check your pet’s microchip to ensure it hasn’t moved and the information is still accurate.

Get Some Good Photos

If you’re anything like me, you have a bazillion photographs of your pet on your phone, computer, and walls. Make sure you have some pictures that show any distinguishing markings or unique features.

Organize Important Numbers

If your pet does become lost, the last thing you will want to do is search for local numbers. Keeping the local shelter, rescue groups, and vet’s numbers handy will alleviate some stress if your pet does become lost. Be sure to file missing pet reports at the local shelter so you will be contacted if your pet is found.

We cannot stress enough the importance of making sure your pet’s information is up to date, so we created this handy printable for you! You can check off the identification information as you confirm its accuracy and list some important, local numbers at the bottom.

Pet Identification Checklist

Power Your Pooch with PowerFood

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Here we go again with one of our favorite companies, Only Natural Pet! The fluffies have been getting their salmon oil every day and I love it as much as ever. We also still have green beef tripe niblets in their treat rotation and they love chomping on their Himalayan yak’s milk chews in the evening.

In case you couldn’t tell, we’re pretty obsessed with our Only Natural Pet products.

Only Natural Pet Canine PowerFood

Today, we’re talking about another fantastic Only Natural Pet product: Canine PowerFood.

Finding an appropriate food for Mauja and Atka takes a lot of work. I am constantly researching dog nutrition and searching for a way to maintain the fluffies’ health. Surprisingly, I had never heard of Canine PowerFood.

The Canine PowerFood comes in three flavors – Red Meat Feast, Just Fish Feast, and Poultry Feast. Each formula has limited protein sources to avoid common food sensitives. Here are a few of my favorite things about this food:

  • Made in the USA
  • No grain, gluten, soy, corn, wheat, or oats
  • Low glycemic carbohydrate sources
  • Holistic vet formulated
  • PowerBoost Blend

The PowerBoost Blend is one of my favorite things about the Canine PowerFood line. The blend consists of green lipped mussels, pumpkin, probiotics, digestive enzymes, and sea cucumber. This raw, freeze-dried blend is mixed into each piece of kibble so your dog won’t spit out the “bits” like in some other foods (Atka’s a pro at that).

Great Pyrenees eating Only Natural Pet's Canine PowerFood in PawNosh bowl

A few other important ingredients:

  • EPA and DHA – great anti inflammatory
  • Apples, cranberries, carrots, tomatoes – natural antioxidant sources
  • Glucosamine hydrochloride, chondroitin sulfate, green-lipped mussels, and sea cucumbers – joint health
  • Chicory root – gut health
  • Pumpkin powder – antioxidants and fiber

Canine PowerFood is also very reasonably priced. A 22.5 lb bag of the Just Fish Feast is only $56.99. If you use auto delivery the price is reduced to $48.44. Now that’s a great deal! Head over to Only Natural Pet and don’t forget to use this discount!

Make sure you use code “AFSAVE” to save $10 + Free Shipping on orders $25 or more. Valid now through 4/30.

Disclaimer: It’s Dog or Nothing received the product mentioned above in exchange for our honest opinion. Don’t worry, an advertiser will never influence the content of this blog and we only share products we feel YOU would enjoy!

tasty-tuesdays3

Only Natural Pet: Himalayan Chews

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Only Natural Pet: Himalayan Yak's Milk Chews

It’s no secret we love Only Natural Pet. We’ve talked about their quality salmon oil and tasty freeze-dried green beef tripe niblets. Well today we’re talking about another Only Natural Pet product: Himalayan Yak’s Milk Dog Chews.

There’s been a lot of buzz about these chews recently and I must admit that I have shied away from them. While Mauja and Atka don’t have issues with dairy, I assumed giving them such a high quantity at once was a recipe for disaster. After a bit of research, I realized I had failed to consider the lactose content.

I have to be very careful of my lactose consumption so I’m familiar with the cheeses that are lower in lactose. It never occurred to me to transfer this knowledge over to Mauja and Atka. While many dogs are sensitive to dairy, it is typically because of the high lactose content. When turning milk into cheese, especially a very hard cheese, much of the lactose is removed. Here’s how it works:

  • Yak’s milk and cow’s milk are boiled and then put into a churning barrel. This process removes most of the fat from the milk.
  • Utilizing a sieve (or something similar like a cheese cloth) allows the liquid whey to be separated from the solid material. Since whey contains the vast majority of the lactose, the remaining solid material is virtually lactose free.
  • After all of the excess whey and water had drained, the cheese is kneaded and shaped or placed into molds.
  • Finally, the cheese is sun-dried until the desired hardness is achieved.

After taking a moment to understand the process, I was intrigued to let Mauja and Atka try these chews. I had read that it can take dogs an hour to make it through a Himalayan yak’s milk chew. As I’ve mentioned before, I have power chewers. They can chomp their way through “long-lasting” treats in no time.

Great Pyrenees with Only Natural Pet's Himalayan Yak's Milk Chew

They actually chomped on these chews for about an hour until they got tired and took a nap break. They had each only finished about half of their treat. Woot! However, these chews are very high in calories so they will be an infrequent treat, but definitely a high value one.

With so many recalls and companies lying about their product ingredients, it can be difficult to find companies you can trust. I have stopped giving Mauja and Atka products I loved after finding out more information about the company. Only Natural Pet truly has your pet’s best interest in mind. They show you through their quality products and fantastic customer support.

Interested in trying the Himalayan Yak’s Milk Chews for your dog? Head over to Only Natural Pet to spoil your pup today!

Make sure you use code “AFSAVE” to save $10 + Free Shipping on orders $25 or more. Valid now through 4/30.

Disclaimer: It’s Dog or Nothing received the product mentioned above in exchange for our honest opinion. Don’t worry – an advertiser will never influence the content of this blog and we only share products we feel you would enjoy!

tasty-tuesdays3

We’re joining the Tasty Tuesday blog hop hosted by Kol’s Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever!

Fluffy Easter Egg Hunt

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Last week we posted about how to throw an Easter egg hunt for your dog on Victoria Stilwell’s Positively. Well, on Easter Sunday we decided to try it out with the fluffies.

I had absolutely no idea how this was going to go. We planned on doing the hunt outside, but the weather was not conducive for being outdoors. Mauja and Atka have never done any nose work and Atka doesn’t like to put in effort for treats. Seriously. I can barely get him to enjoy a treat out of a Kong. Lazy pants. Nick and I let them watch us put some smelly treats in the eggs, had them sniff the stuffed eggs, and then we put them in a stay while we placed the eggs.

It was time for the moment of truth. We gave them the release and waited to see how they would respond. Not surprisingly, Atka didn’t even get up. Mauja got up, but wasn’t quite sure what to do. Nick helped her find her first egg and then she did what she always does with her finds; walked to the back door. She wanted to take her treat outside to enjoy it!

After we convinced her to open the egg inside, the game clicked for her. She started searching around the house for eggs, easily finding them and cracking them open to enjoy the treats. Atka had no interest in participating and continued to relax on the floor. After Mauja found her third egg, we convinced Atka to get up. He meandered over to us with an “I’m only doing this to please you” expression. But then, this happened.

He opened his first egg! After that he was a bit more interested in participating and Mauja was really getting into it. With her nose sniffing the air, she quickly made it from egg to egg. She’d immediately crack the egg and move on, while Atka would find an egg and lie down to enjoy it. Much less efficient method 😉

Ready for picture overload? And…. go!

Mauja cracking open her first egg!
Mauja cracking open her first egg!
Mauja got really into the hunt - even crawling under my desk to find an egg.
Mauja got really into the hunt – even crawling under my desk to find an egg.
Mauja cruising through the hunt.
Mauja cruising through the hunt.
Atka kept knocking the egg away. Yes, I had to move it back to him ;)
Atka kept knocking the egg away. Yes, I had to move it back to him 😉
Atka relaxing with his find.
Atka relaxing with his find.
Loving Atka's squishy face!
Loving Atka’s squishy face!
Mauja found all the difficult eggs.
Mauja found all the difficult eggs.
Atka really got into it eventually!
Atka really got into it eventually!

I really debated doing the egg hunt because I didn’t know if Mauja and Atka would get into it. I’m so glad we did it and it’s definitely going to become an Easter tradition! I’ve said before that I wished we had nose work in our area because I thought Mauja would enjoy it. Now I know I’m right!

Did you do an egg hunt with your dog?