PetLvr.com - [The Blog]

As you may know, I feed my dog a raw diet, and advocate whole prey model raw feeding for anyone who’s willing and able to make the switch to this more complex and natural method of feeding pets. However, most people can’t or don’t want to feed raw. If you’re feeding a dry or canned food, take a moment to make sure that none of these undesirable ingredients are included.
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Sometimes dogs refuse food. Failing to eat can be indicative of as little as a mild upset tummy, or of conditions as serious as bloat or organ failure. So, how do you tell the difference? When in doubt, always consult a vet. However, you may be able to determine the cause of your dog’s loss of appetite on your own, by observing the dog and the surrounding environment carefully.

Is it a small dog, and/or is the food different?

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No matter how much you love your pet, chances are, you hate shedding. Unless you own a non-shedding breed like a Standard Poodle, there’s also a good chance shedding is a fact of life. However, sometimes a pet develops a shedding problem that defies logic and the vacuum cleaner. If your pet is dropping hair like it’s going out of style, you may need to take some extra steps to keep a little more hair on the dog or the groomer’s floor, rather than on your dry-clean only pants.

1. Rule out a Health Problem

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Dear Petlvr Mailbag …

I’ve got two questions…

Why does my cat insist on tearing up every piece of paper lying around on the floor? He’s 3, far from being a kitty.

Also he is chunky. We got him that way, and have since only fed him what he needs, nothing more, yet he isn’t losing weight. What can I do to help him lose weight? Hes a strictly indoor cat since he is declawed. So I wouldn’t feel great about him being outside.

Dang.. one more. What kind of cat would be best for him in our home? We’re thinking a kitten will keep him running around and busy, perhaps shed some weight too.

Signed: ChicaX from Photo-Projectz

Dear ChicaX,
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I have a raw-fed dog.

We’ll talk more seriously about the choice to go raw and how to do so without sacrificing optimum nutrition later, as well as about the home-cooked alternative, but for now I’d like to share some of the wacky adventures I’ve had while seeking out the right meats, bones, and organs to feed to Augustin. If you’re a fellow raw feeder, you probably have similar stories of your own. If you’re considering raw, here’s what you’ve got to look forward to! If you’re neither a raw feeder nor likely to switch, go ahead and roll your eyes and chuckle. It’s okay– we rawbies are used to a few laughs about the lengths to which we’ll go to get a meal for our dogs.

Craigslist Meat

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Every pet looks its best with a healthy, shiny coat. Whether it’s the family cat or a show-ring star, pets deserve proper skin and coat care. Healthy skin and coat can also indicate overall health and wellness, and a sudden change in the health of the skin and coat often indicates an underlying medical problem. For these reasons, every owner should take time to maintain and inspect their pet’s skin and coat regularly. These three tips will help you keep your pet looking and feeling great.

1. Brush Daily (no need to floss)

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Dear PetLvr Mailbag ..

My dog lifts his leg to pee, then poops instead. This may seem like a silly question, but it causes poop to stick to the hair on his hind legs. Yuck!

–Grossed Out

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Dear PetLvr Mailbag,

My 4 month old kitten totally dominates my 8 year old Australian Shepherd.

The kitten, Freckles, is 4 months old. She’ll walk up to the dog, Luke, and he’ll freeze in panic. She’ll rub around his legs, purr, snuggle against him, and he’ll stand in one place with the most pathetic look you’re ever seen on a dog’s face.

Dinner time? If she’s in the same room, she runs to his dish and starts to eat his food, even if he’s already there. She’ll whap him on the nose, and start to eat his food. The kibbles are bigger than her mouth, but she’ll chew on one until it’s eaten, and them move on to another one. It’ll be a good 15 minutes of this before she’s finished and the dog can eat.

And no, I don’t under-feed her. She’s got a dish of her own Iams kitten kibble that’s kept full at all times.

Is my dog just a big wuss, or is there more to it than I’m seeing?

Signed,

Erich

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For dogs with allergies, exposure to even a small amount of a food or environmental allergen can mean days of itching miserably, sneezing, and even outbreaks of hives or skin sores. Some dogs who have allergies can manage them with diet and lifestyle changes, but others need regular injections for life, and treatment with a steroid like prednisone during particularly problematic times. In rare cases, a dog can develop an allergy severe enough to be life-threatening.

So, it follows that where allergies in dogs are concerned, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you make allergy prevention a priority from day one, you can reduce your dog’s chance of developing allergies later in life. More →

Feeding a bird is easy. After all, you just toss some seeds in a bowl and give them some water and you’re done, right? Actually, if you want a healthy bird, you will need to do a bit more than that. There are quite a few different bird diets you can choose from.

Bird seed has been the diet of choice for many years, but it is no longer very popular with many bird lovers. However, there is actually nothing wrong with bird seed if it is used in combination with other types of food. Millet and safflower seeds are better for birds than sunflower seeds, which are high in fat and can cause obesity and related diseases in parrots that only eat sunflower seeds. If you feed seeds to your birds, you should make sure that the seeds do not comprise more than 30 percent of your bird’s diet.

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