This article first appeared in the September 2007 issue of the Healthy Pet Net Newsletter.
HPN specializes in holistic pet products. More info. at Healthy Pet Net
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Now that the Fall is here, a new school year has started. With ever-busier activity calenders, it is also that time of year when animal owners can find themselves with less time to spend with their pets. Here are a few tips for making the most of the time that you happen to have left:

• Set aside several minutes early in the day to groom your dog or cat. While brushing or combing your pet, chat about your plans for the day. If they do not like grooming for some, simply spend a a little while stroking them. Regardless of your particular morning regimen, attempt to do it on a regular predictable regiment.
Your companion will find comfort in the regimen – and so will you!
• If you happen to have a canine, do something they will like to do following your return home, such as hide-and-seek, or taking a walk. If you have a cat or kitten, we suggest playing with a ball or dangling feathers......... your feline loves that stuff.
• Add teeth cleaning, ear cleaning or perhaps even nail trimming into your routine. All too often, these health exercises are viewed as merely chores. Do your best to making this time as wonderful as can be.
• Massage is a superb way to connect with your dog or cat also. Look for one of the various pet massage books which are now available online or at your local bookstore. There is some evidence that this massage can really improve your animal’s health.
So consider giving your critter a treat!

Just as humans experience an assortment of allergies, many pets, such as a dog may experience an allergy as well. It is agreed among professionals that specialize in the health of dogs, that there are at least five specific allergy types that a dog may experience in their lifetime. Common types of allergies in dogs include food allergy, reactions to fleas, and various forms of bacteria. A dog may also experience allergies that are related to inhaling certain irritants. Then, there are many dogs that may even suffer from allergies related to coming in contact with certain materials such as plastic, certain types of plants, and even grass.


When a dog experiences an allergy, they may display an assortment of symptoms. One of the first signs that a dog owner may recognize is that their pet seems to be scratching a lot. When an allergy occurs, it is quite common for the dog to experience a period of time in which their skin becomes extremely itchy. The next symptom that is often recognized by dog owners when their pet is experiencing an allergy is hair loss. The hair loss may be localized to one spot on the body, or it may occur in patches over the entire body.


As you can see, the skin of a dog usually becomes quite sensitive when an allergy is experienced. Many pet owners will see their dogs licking their paws quite often when an allergy is occurring. This is a natural method that the dog uses in order to soothe the symptoms and discomfort of the allergy that they are experiencing. You may notice that your pet is starting to experience redness, swelling, and rashes on the surface of their skin when they are allergic to something. These symptoms are quite common.


If a pet owner suspects that their dog is experiencing an allergy, the first thing that they should do is research the diet of the dog. There are many ingredients that are used in various types of dog foods that may cause reactions in the pet. Most of these ingredients are included in generic or cheap versions of dog foods. Just as many humans ingest toxins as a result of the way that particular foods are grown or processed, dogs suffer from allergies as a result of foods that are processed and created cheaply in order to sell the product at a discounted price.


The digestive system of the dog is sensitive. It requires key ingredients and nutrients in order to function appropriately. When selecting food for your pet, it is important to select premium foods that are loaded with “real” ingredients that can provide the highest level of nutritional value possible. It is vital to avoid foods that contain products such as wheat and soy. If a dog experiences an allergy associated with generic and/or processed ingredients, they may suffer from some very uncomfortable symptoms.


Apart from skin irritation and discomfort, an allergy related to poorly created food products can cause serious symptoms in a dog. These symptoms include severe vomiting, an increased amount of bowel movements each day that may become painful, and diarrhea, itching in the area of the anus, dehydration, and even seizures. Problems with the ears, such as infection and inflammation, are another common and uncomfortable symptom associated with food allergies in dogs.

If you are a pet owner, there are numerous ways that you can help to prevent allergies in dogs. It is important to ensure that you provide your animal with only the highest quality in foods. A dog should receive food that contains ingredients that are not processed. Having a diet with a high amount of nutrients, vitamins, and important minerals will help to allow your pet to remain healthy.

Certain test can be done at your vet’s office or you may have to go to a specialist. From there, numerous tests can be performed to find the exact issue. Some tests will show certain ingredients in food, ingredients in cleaning products, or dust etc. It may be a process to weed out the exact cause but will be worth it in the long run for the comfort of your pet and your sanity.

Lori Matthews studies health, nutrition and wellness. She enjoys writing articles on health for both people and pets. Please visit Lifes Abundance Healthy Dog Food for more information.

While most people are aware of the high profile headlines concerning the recent pet food and human food recalls,
few people realize the difficulty in tracking the sources, according to a recent AP report by elite news journalist Andrew Bridges. All in all this has turned into a major health issue for the nation.
This is because if you take a look at the ninety-odd brands composing the recall of canned chili, stew & similiar food items, it all points back back to one manufacturer.
This was likewise the situation regarding the recalls of spinach, frozen meat and of course the now sad and infamous pet food recalls,
in which so many innocent animals were killed or severely sickened.
More than ever before, firms are outsourcing the food Americans consume, or at least the ingredients found in them — and then selling these items under many different brand names.
Many of these tainted ingredients come from China. To add insult to injury, many toys from that country have been found with toxic levels of lead in them.
The real issue here is that if individuals can't trace a particular item back to it's supplier, then that supplier has very little, if any, reason to keep their facilities or processing plants up to decent standards.
Oversight is remarkly slack. For example, the major brand in the pet food recalls was a co-regulator of the pet food industry along with the FDA.
Apparently, it all comes down to effeciency and simple economics: Outsourcing makes monetary sense for the firms who are unwilling to expand their existing manufacturing facilities. Established manufacturers may use excess capacity to fill the orders for others.
For some certain products which require expensive machinery — such as pet food for example — a limited number of contract manufacturers, like Menu Foods inc, make products which are then sold under many different brand names,
according to the AP report. The skeptics of this outsourcing believe that, in general, it creates increased vulnerability to our food supply. In essence, the manufacturer is no longer responsible to the consumer, but instead to other firms.
Meanwhile, various food safety advocates have repeatedly stated that when issues crop up with food items made under contract, sorting out who made what may delay recalls and public health warnings in general.
As an example, in July the FDA for a number of hours delayed issuing a consumer warning about botulism contamination in various canned food items until it could sort out the brands under which the Castleberry's Food Co. product was sold.
In addition to this, there has been a fairly long delay in mandating that imported fruits & vegetables be labeled with their nation of origin.

According to a report from ScienceDaily as originally reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over one hundred and twenty million people in the U.S. who don't smoke are exposed to secondhand smoke
in their homes, vehicles, workplaces, and public places. This exposure causes thousands of lung cancer and heart disease deaths among nonsmokers every year, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency.
Making the leap from the effects of secondhand smoke on humans to their effects on pets isn't a big one, says veterinarian Carolynn MacAllister of Oklahoma State University.
"There have been a number of scientific papers recently that have reported the significant health threat secondhand smoke poses to pets," MacAllister said. "Secondhand smoke has been associated with oral cancer and lymphoma in cats, lung and nasal cancer in dogs, as well as lung cancer in birds."
She cited a study done by the Tufts College of Veterinary Medicine that showed that the number of cats living with mouth cancer (also known as squamous cell carcinoma) was higher for those living in homes with smokers than those who lived in smoke-free environments.
Cats living with smokers are also twice as likely to develop malignant lymphoma, a cancer that occurs in the lymph nodes and that is fatal to three out of four cats within 12 months of developing it.
Studies have also shown that dogs living in a smoking household are susceptible to cancers of the nose and sinus area, particularly if they are a long-nosed breed, because their noses have a greater surface area that is exposed
to carcinogens and a greater area for them to accumulate. Dogs affected with nasal cancer normally don't survive for more than one year.
Short and medium-nosed dogs are more susceptible to lung cancer, "because their shorter nasal passage aren't as effective at accumulating the inhaled secondhand smoke carcinogens," MacAllister said. "This results in more carcinogens reaching the lungs."
Birds are also at risk for lung cancer, as well as pneumonia, because their respiratory systems are hypersensitive to any type of air pollutant.
To help prevent animals from being adversely affected by smoking, pet owners who smoke should have a designated smoking area that is separated from the home or stop smoking altogether, MacAllister was quoted as stated.