Bark Parks gets one step closer

Bentonville Bark Park Update
For anyone who lives in the Bentonville area, and thinks it has taken an excruciating amount of time to get your Bark Park up and going, relax and take a deep breath. We've heard under pretty good authority that the Bentonville Bark Park is going to go up in stages, so that the whole amount they were seeking will not need to be raised before there is some place you can take your dogs. The folks responsible are finalizing plans for the fencing, and are getting ready to take take bids, and might soon be ready to have phase one completed. Yea!!! There was also a rumor that the City of Bentonville might be willing to build up the land for the Bark Park, to get it a little higher and out of the mud. I know this was one of my concerns when I first heard where the park was going in at.

Fayetteville Bark Park - Pup Parade
Walt Eilers, Fayetteville Mayoral Candidate, will be on the Fayetteville Square Saturday, July 5th, at 9:45 AM for a short pup parade, and then to discuss the current state of the proposed dog parks in Fayetteville.

Fayetteville Dog Park - Fayetteville Animal Shelter
Is Fayetteville ready for more dog parks? Saturday was my first time to see the dog park at the Fayetteville Animal Shelter, during the Grand Re-Opening celebration, and this is a very beautiful park. I get the feeling that it is entirely under utilized. Community awareness of this great park could be increased by planning some dog park activities, and promoting them. I know that the Rogers Dog Park has a great following, partly because it plays host to events like the easter egg hunt, RDOD, Mardi Paws, and Halloween Carnivals. Fun, vendor supported events, with free stuff to give away, that afford both the people and the dogs to socialize with their own kind. If Fayetteville is hosting events like these at their current park, they need to get the word out better.

Fayetteville Animal Shelters Grand Reopening

The Fayetteville Animal Shelter hosted it's Grand Re-opening Party Saturday, from 11 AM to 3 PM at it's facilities on Armstrong Rd. Dog Party USA, Angel Pet Sitters, The Humane Society of the Ozarks, as well as Bigwag were there in support of their efforts. It started to rain about 2 PM, so we bugged out a little early, but the event was winding down anyway. There was also a demonstration by Dogs Deserve Better, a group dedicated to raising awareness about dogs who spend their whole lives chained to a dog house (See the second photo above). The HSO also presented Jill Hatfield, the shelter director, with a check for $20,000, to help defray the deficit of funds that were cut from the city budget this year. Funds from the HSO 2008 planner were used to help make up the difference.

Renovations included a new air filtration system, UV lighting to help reduce microbial and bacterial infections, as well as new paint, to help the shelter feel more homier, according to Mrs. Hatfield.

Bigwag 2.0

Hey everyone -

You may have noticed that our logo is changing. Or, maybe you didn't notice - that was the problem with our old logo. It wasn't very noticeable. In preparation for our birthday party next month, we are rolling out a new Bigwag. We are now Bigwag Dog Bakery, or Bigwag 2.0, as the project has been called internally. We have a new logo, we are dropping the "gourmet" from our logo, and we are no longer mixing up the capitalized letters in Bigwag. I think, in retrospect, that the weird capitalizations made it hard to read. Everyone called us "Big Wag", or "Big Wags", or some variant of that. We had always intended "Bigwag" to be one word, we just thought the mixed up capitalizations would be fun. Turns out, it wasn't.

It was also not bold enough to get people's attention. The "Gourmet Dog Bakery" part was so small, nobody would read it, and then nobody knows what Bigwag does. Hopefully, our new logo leaves no doubt what we do. We also dropped the Bigwag dog that was to the right of the logo. We are not dropping "Bubby" out of all of our materials, in fact, he is still the same dog that is to the left. We just think he was "too cute", detracting people's attention away from the name. Everyone always remembered the cute doggy, but couldn't remember how to spell our name.

Just to prevent any rumors starting, we have not sold the bakery, and the management is still the same. If you were looking forward to new owners, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you a bit longer :P

We are also starting an initiative to get some new products in the store. We are planning on building out the "Dog Barkday" section, with party supplies, clothing, treat jars and dishes, supplements, more kinds of food, more kinds of collars, harnesses, cool new stuff nobody has seen before. If you have any requests, like the wonderful sweet potato chews that a customer pointed us towards, then don't hold back. Comment here, or let us know at the store. We'd love your input here.

We are also talking about "Bigwag After Hours", which I'm not going to divulge any secrets just yet, but we hope will be some fun social events at our store. Stay tuned for more information about that later.

Now, you might be asking, what about our treats? Whats changing with those? Well, as for right now, we don't have any plans on changing our treats up. We might be adding a couple of different kinds of treats. We are currently planning some new trainer chips that are for high performance dogs, and some "super treats" that will have ingredients that lower cholesterol, help joint pain, help heart disease, etc. We're also hoping to continue our current "Treat of the month", after our "Stephen Colbert Claws" are up, to roll out something new each month just for a short period of time. We are even talking about holding contests to let our customers name the treat of the month. But, rest assured, your favorites should still be here the next time you come by our store.

So, not to fret. Bigwag 2.0 is going to be a better Bigwag. We hope to be your source of quality, innovative, ground breaking pet products for all of your needs and wants. We are all about quality, guaranteed, American made (when possible) pet products. If there is anything we can do for you or your pet, let us know!

Exploring Northwest Arkansas' Dog Parks

As of June, 2008, there are only three off-lead dog parks that I am aware of in Northwest Arkansas that are completed. Here's the rundown:

Each park has it's own rules, which may include: being up to date on all vaccinations, aggressive dogs prohibited, dogs must be spayed or neutered, puppies must be older than 6 months, owners must stay within sight of their dogs at all times, no spike collars, a maximum of 3 dogs per adult, owners must clean up after their dogs, absolutely no females in season, no glass, no tobacco products inside the fencing. If you do not know your parks rules, check for signs or ask.

Murphy Memorial Dog Park
407 E. Nursery Road,
Rogers AR 72758
(479) 631-9909 (Steve and Toni Carter)
This is a fenced in park with big dog, little dog, and training sections. Loaded full of trees, picnic tables, benches, toys, and a dog wash station, this is a beautiful park to take your four legged friends to on a nice Saturday morning. Often host to annual dog events, like the Easter Egg Hunt and Responsible Dog Ownership Day, MMDP is really at the center of the dog community of Rogers. Sitting in front of the Humane Society grounds, prospective dog owners can take their dog for a walk down to the park and let them get some exercise.
Registration/fee required.

Fayetteville Animal Shelter Dog Park
1640 Armstrong Road
Fayetteville, AR 72701
479-444-3456

Big open fenced in area with toys, bag, water and benches for owners. Don't forget to come inside and pick another play mat. Only open during the day until the sun goes down. Location: Right behind the Fayetteville animal shelter. Directions: Just turn right on to industrial drive and then pull in to the shelter and go around the back. Here is the Fayetteville Animal Shelter's website.

There are rumors of a new dog park being discussed as part of a $20 million Fayetteville parks project. Here are some articles: article, article discussing it from December, 2007. This almost sounds too good to be true, but hey!

Ft Smith Dog Park
Corner of Massard and Louisville Streets
Ft Smith, AR 72904
The Fort Smith Dog Park is dedicated to dogs and dog lovers. Like most dog parks, our purpose is to provide off-leash exercise and socialization opportunities for our four legged companions while promoting responsible dog ownership through events and programs. The temporary park was established through the efforts of the City of Fort Smith Parks & Recreation Department and the Fort Smith Airport Commission. For more information, visit their website.

Bentonville Bark Park - NOT YET COMPLETED
Walton and NW "A" Street
Bentonville, AR 72712
Plans are currently underway for this to be Bentonville's first off-leash dog park. No fencing has been installed yet. For more information on current developments, visit their website.

If anyone has any photos of their dogs enjoying any of these dog parks, or perhaps one I don't even know about, send them to me!

Facts and Myths about Your Dogs Food and Treats

Myth: The dog food I am using will help my dog live a long and healthy life.

FACT: Most commercial dog foods don't contain enough quality proteins, good fats, and proper carbohydrate sources. Instead they contain fillers, sugars, spoiled or rancid grains, toxic chemicals, preservatives, slaughterhouse waste, artificial colors and flavors, feces, and pesticides. The AAFCO allows bird beaks, feet and feathers to be used as a protein source, listed as poultry meals and by products. The average dog consumes 35-40 lbs. of artificial preservatives a year. With cancer rates in dogs increasing, as well as starting at earlier ages then ever before, the average life expectancy of our dogs is decreasing at an alarming rate.

Myth: I can manage any pet food allergy myself by switching their food.

FACT: Unfortunately for pets with food allergies, most pet food diets contain some sort of mixture of beef, dairy, wheat, lamb, fish, and chicken. Even worse, some contain corn or soy. Just changing foods is bound to lead to exposure to the same allergens. There are two ways to address food allergies: feeding a diet based on high quality or exotic protein sources (this usually means venison, duck, kangaroo, rabbit or even alligator) OR feeding a diet where the proteins have been predigested into units too small to interest their immune system.

Myth: My dog can't have a food allergy because I've been feeding them the same food for years.

FACT: It can take months or even years to develop a food allergy. The immune system must be repeatedly exposed to food in question, and must develop enough antibodies to trigger an allergic reaction. A reaction to a food that occurs on the first exposure is not an allergic reaction, but rather a "food intolerance" and usually involves toxins within the food.

Myth: My dog food has 100% of the nutritional needs for my dog.

FACT: Most proteins, amino acids, and nutritional value is cooked out of the food during the baking process. Most commercial dog foods are cooked twice, once during the extrusion, and a second time to harden the food. Most commercial dog foods have such low quality proteins, from sources that are indigestible, they often will eat twice as much food to get the same nutritional value as they would from a single serving of a higher quality food.

Myth: My dog food is a quality dog food, containing only the freshest ingredients, and choice cuts of meat.

FACT: Most dog foods contain inferior ingredients, unsuitable for human consumption. By-products, meat meals, animal digest, old or rancid grains, bird feathers, even dead, diseased, and deformed animals all make up the ingredient list in many commercial dog foods.

Myth: Human food is bad for dogs.

FACT: Table scraps have been what domesticated dogs have eaten since they were domesticated. It wasn't until within the last 100 years, that large pet food manufacturers have begun marketing prepared dog food that we began to believe table scraps were bad for them. Human food is often made with sauces, salts, and seasonings, and it's these ingredients that makes our food unfit for our pets. Meats, vegetables, grains, yogurt, and cheese are all suitable ingredients for our dogs.

Myth: Vitamin C is the new cure-all wonder vitamin for dogs.

FACT: Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin, which means excess is flushed from the body in the urine. While this means it is impossible to overdose on vitamin C, it also means feeding more isn't going to do anything because excess will be flushed from the body. Their are reports of vitamin C reducing kidney stone and aiding in relief of pain from hip dysplasia, however feeding large amount of C may cause diarrhea as it is a natural laxative.

Myth: All doggy treats are healthy.

FACT: Most dog treats contain large amounts of chemicals and preservatives. Think about how long most treats have been sitting on store shelves. These chemicals and preservatives contribute to poor health, especially over the long term.

USMC Disciplines Two Marines in Connection with Animal Cruelty Video

Last week the USMC released the details of the investigation about the youtube video of the two marines tossing the dog off of the cliff. One marine was discharged and the other was given non-judicial punishments that are protected under the Privacy Act.

I would like to go on the record in defense of these two marines, as their untold story makes their actions justified. That animal was sick, and with no humane means of euthanizing it, they were left with no alternative choice but to put it out of it's misery. This was not the heinous act that everyone is claiming it is...

Ok, I'm really BS-ing here. I'm mostly seeing if I can get anyone riled up over this story, and trying to cover the story and make it interesting in the sea of other posts that are out there covering the same story.

There is no justification for what they did. There is no cool story to back up their actions. It was just sick and wrong, and if you watched the video (as I did) it makes my stomach turn. The ASPCA filed an official response here.

I simply cannot fathom how someone could do this. Experts say that serial murders often start with pets or animals, and then move up to spousal abuse. I wonder if there is any history there.

Sam at TYDTW Day at the Vision Chain Office

Wow, can you say "I Look Bored?"

OK, so I brought both Sam and Hannah to the Vision Chain office today. I brought Hannah this morning, and then traded them out with Sam in the afternoon. Both dogs enjoyed meeting Ron and Lance (Although I think Lance left for the day after lunch, so he might not have met Sam - sorry to bust you out like that Lance) and they were very well behaved. Sam did a lot more exploring of the office, as there are lots of nooks and crannies. (If anyone finds a "present" let me know and I will clean it up).

They apparently were well enough behaved to get invited back again. Since Charity expressed an interest in bringing her dogs on a day she can come, maybe we should schedule an "un-official" Vision Chain TYDTW Day. More photos should transpire!

They might not have been so bored if there were more dogs to play with. Good thing the geese were way down at the far end of the pond.

Take Your Dog To Work Day

Next Friday is national Take-Your-Dog-To-Work-Day! This seems like a strange holiday. What exactly is the importance of TYDTW Day?

From www.takeyourdog.com:

First celebrated in 1999, Take Your Dog To Work Day was created to celebrate the great companions dogs make and to encourage their adoption from humane societies, animal shelters and breed rescue clubs. This annual event encourages employers to experience the value of pets in their workplace for this one special day to promote pet adoptions.

On June 20, 2008, businesses, animal shelters and pet-care professionals from around the world will work together to better the lives of shelter dogs everywhere. Thousands of businesses will open their doors to employees’ pets on this day in celebration of the great companions dogs make. Pet Sitters International invites your business to Join us! as we celebrate a decade of working dogs!

We are asking every business--great and small--to become a true friend of the canine community by helping Pet Sitters International promote pet adoptions in a positive and proactive way! Explore our site to learn how you can participate, register your business and spread the word.

This event was created by Pet Sitters Intl. There is even a nifty guide to help make TYDTW Day a great experience. This is a great mission statement - very well polished, but what does it mean to me and you?

First off, most dogs do not get the amount of socialization that they generally require. My dogs do, because they are at the bakery most days, but how many dogs get to say that? Getting out of the house, meeting new people, meeting new dogs. This is all healthy stuff for your dog. Think how bored you'd be if you never got to go anywhere but the doctor?

Second, this raises awareness with your co-workers about your dog ownership. Where did you get him or her, was it a rescue? Do you guys have any tricks or commands that you have been working on? Do you use a dog trainer? Where's the dog park at? Part of responsible dog ownership is the education of our peers, with whatever we can share. So, anything you can share with your co-workers is great.

Now, those two reasons are great, but if you don't coordinate something with the local shelters or rescues, thats about where the benefits stop. Involving a local shelter or rescue can help bring awareness to the thousands of dogs that need homes every day. They might even be willing to make a stop at your businesses to show off some adoptable dogs, and who knows, maybe with all of the hoopla going on, we might excite someone to take the plunge and adopt a homeless dog in need.

In my opinion, this is where the big dividends are at. It is very hard to raise awareness of the current plight our homeless animals face every day. It is literally a fight for their lives.

This is the first time I have considered taking one of my dogs to the office with me. As far as I know, no local shelters or rescues participate with TYDTW Day, or at least I have never seen or heard anything about them being out in the community during TYDTW Day. How does one go about generating interest in something like this? It might be a little late this year, but I am going to ask some questions. Maybe we can get something cool going by next year - or maybe I will stumble upon cool stuff thats going on now and I just don't know about it! I will post anything if I get any kind of response.

Blog Review

I read two blogs this week - Blog #1 is from a friend of mine that struck a cord with me. I embrace this mentality about going local. Over 90% of the economy (my numbers might not be exact - my memory isn't what it used to be) is supported by small business. You stop and think, wow, what about all of those big employers, those big companies. They employ a lot of people, and that they do. But it's a numbers game here. There are simply thousands of small businesses for every super large business out there, all quietly toiling away keeping their business running, not getting much PR for the good or hard job they do, or the local charities they work with, or all of the good they bring to the community.

So, I do support local, small businesses as much as possible. I think it's important, and I like to root for the underdog. I know how hard it is to start, build, and grow a small businesses first hand, and feel a kinship with all of the other small guys (and gals) out there. If we all supported each other, we would all be stronger! Local is more sustainable, it's greener, it's better for the local economy - it also feels right. It's community, not a big corporation. Small businesses operate with a conscience (most of the time), while big corporations exist without one.

I'm not sure Brenda's is the best cheeseburger in NWA tho. The Station Cafe on the Bentonville Square flips a pretty darn good cheeseburger. I would pit it against Brenda's any time. Not to knock Brenda's tho. They are good, and without it, Erin would never have found the Sysco office to pick up flour in Fayetteville on occasion.

Blog #2 is related more to BigWag. While I appreciate the economic slowdown, and what that means for everyone, including me, it makes it hard to refute every single point the author makes. It is tough. I have seen first hand what the housing crunch has done to the area shelters. I've rescued and fostered one myself.

But, here is where the rub is for me. We as a race took responsibility for the canine species when we domesticated them. A lot of the problems they have now, are a result from poor breeding practices, nutrition, and a lack of responsibility. Now, when I say poor breeding practices, I am referring to over breeding from a genetic pool that was too small to filter out problems that are now inherit to the breed, like joint and hip problems or other diseases that are common to specific breeds.

If you have never seen a dog with food allergies, then good for you. They are completely miserable, constantly itching, irritable bowels, vomiting, chewing on their feet. Lela states, "I’m going on record here to say - I really don’t love my dog that much. Kids, yes. Dog, no."

Most of the reason dogs have food allergies is because for decades we fed them crap - and you can quote me on that one. Parts they would not eat out in the wild. Parts we sure as heck wouldn't eat. Ingredients that were going to be landfill, so we found a creative way of disposing of the waste. We ground it all up, added rancid restaurant oil to make it "go down easier", and priced it to sell - by the millions of it. As long as it was cheaper than throwing it away, they were making a profit. Poor protein sources, little to no nutrient value. Most of the amino acids and vitamins are destroyed during the baking process. Dogs spent their whole lives eating "filler" we didn't want to pay to throw away, and turned it into a billion dollar industry. This is what has created the food allergies in dogs.

Our responsibility doesn't end with just better food. The Humane Society in Benton County destroyed some 2500 dogs in 2007. They had an above average placement rate, but that is still how many were destroyed. What kind of existence is it to spend your "happy, puppy months" in a cage, and then be destroyed when you reached an age that you are "unadoptable". Counties in California have reached "no kill status" with aggressive spay-neuter programs. People adopt or buy dogs (from puppy millers), and then decide they don't want it anymore. I have heard stories of surrenders because the dog didn't match the new furniture, or they got too big, or it was too much responsibility. They chewed things up, or pooped in the house and couldn't be house broken. In the end the stories are all the same - too much work or too inconvenient. This isn't responsible dog ownership. You can't just give your children back when they turn out to be too much work or are too inconvenient.

So as an argument to Lela's "Spa Products" comments - maybe this is just karma for the rest of the dog population that suffers or are destroyed because the dog ended up being too inconvenient. In the end there will always be a ton of people who will try and tell you what you should or shouldn't feed your dog. Most of what you will see or hear will come from billion dollar mega corporations whose conscience is single mindedness to turn a buck - so just keep that in mind the next time you stroll down the pet food isle.

Knowing what I know about the pet food industry, if my financial situation would prevent me from buying a better than average dog food, my dog would be eating ramen noodles and hot dogs and mac-n-cheese right along side me - and they would go apes over it. It's one way of guaranteeing humane grade ingredients! Dogs ate table scraps for centuries before we were sold on the notion of dry dog food.

Product Review: HappyTails Spa's Calming Aromatherapy Spritzer

Hey Everybody!

It isn't every day that we use this blog to plug products and there's a good reason for that. After all, if you just wanted to read about the products we sell, you'd visit our website. But every once in a while we come across a product that is so amazing that it has to be mentioned. I came across one of those products Saturday.

Let me give you a little background - Saturday was the very first Paws-n-Spas, a dog wash to benefit the Humane Society here in Rogers. We offered $5 bathing, $5 nail clipping and $5 spa treatments. Somehow I ended up in charge of nail trimming. Now, I've trimmed a few nails in my lifetime, but I have never attempted to trim dogs' toenails out in the open at an event like this, surrounded by lots of other dogs, people and who knows what else. You can imagine, it's not the most relaxing environment to get toenails trimmed. Not to mention that most dog's aren't crazy about this practice in the first place.


Well, the first few went somewhat poorly, with the result being that I got snapped at more than once and nails ended up untrimmed. But in the midst of the chaos, I was asked to do a spa treatment and nail trim. Well, relishing another nail trim about as much as a trip to the dentist, I thought I'd put it off as long as possible, so I did the spa treatment first, rubbing the Happy Tails Calming Aromatherapy Spritzer into the dog's coat.


I have to say the result was instant. The dog relaxed and it was much easier to trim toenails. Now, I'm something of a skeptic when it comes to herbs. I like to cook with them, but use them for some medicinal value? Not my cup of tea...:p So I figured it was simply a case of this dog just being better adjusted. BUT... the pattern continued. If I tried to just trim nails, chaos. But if I sprayed the calming aromatherapy spritzer with lavender and chamomile, relaxed puppy, easier nail trim. You don't have to see this pattern very long before you're a believer. And I am. At the end of the day (we raised $730 for the Humane Society, so you figure out how many toenails I trimmed) someone said they were amazed that I'd been able trim all those toe nails. I chalk it up to the power of lavender and chamomile.

My rating: ***** (five stars)

Lots of Love,
Erin

Leash Training Your Dog

Someone was asking the other day how they could get their puppy to walk on a leash. I'm sure there is ton's of tips on this, but I thought I would give my advise on how I accomplished this.

First, 6 months might be a little young to accomplish great leash walking skills, but if you have patience, it's not too young to start.

Second, this works best with small treats, or treat bits, that your dog loves. I use our BBQ Trainer chips, but anything small that will motivate them will do the trick. Sam will do anything for Taste Of The Wild - Salmon flavor - which is just dog food. You don't want too big of a treat or you break their concentration for too long, and then they forget what they are doing, or they have to stand up and drop some of the treat on the floor because they can't eat it in one bite, and if you are teaching sit, this can be a problem.

The first thing that I would do is acclimate my puppy or dog to accept treat reinforcement. Teach them the sit command. This is one of the easiest commands to learn, and it gets them "paying attention to you" instead of paying attention to something else. To get them to sit, start with the dog facing you, speak the word "sit" in a clear, commanding tone (not too scary) and slowly raise the treat up and over them, so that they have to sit to be able to follow it over their head. Let them smell the treat, but don't give them the treat until after they have performed the sit.

This is a natural motion, which makes it the easiest command to learn. They don't even know that they are doing a command yet, they just know that you have a treat in your hand, and it's going up over their head, so they need to sit to hopefully get it out of your hand. This may take some practice, but you should be able to get this one without too much problem. Just remember to keep it within reach, so they can smell it, maybe even lick it through your fingers, and keep moving your hand slowly up and back over their head (like you are going to set it on their forehead) and their mouth should follow you up until they have to sit to follow it further.

After they do the sit, reinforce it with the command in a clear, commanding voice, give them the treat, then heap lots of praise on them. Soon, they are going to associate that when you are happy, they get a treat, and then you have just acclimated your puppy to positive treat reinforcement. Slowly begin advancing the sit command, to not need the treat raised over and back over their head, and then slowly not showing them the treat at all, and before you know it, you will have a dog that will sit on command - every time.

Now, once you have achieved the positive treat reinforcement, you want to begin on heal, which is the formal leash walking command. This is accomplished by saying the command "heal", and with the leash and a treat in your left hand (this requires a little more dexterity on your part) guide them around to your left side until they are facing the same direction as you are, parallel with you, and then tell them to sit. A short leash will keep them in place. Take up any slack there might be between your puppy and your hand, so you can direct them with the leash. The treat in your left hand should help hold their attention - let them smell it, lick it - just don't give it to them until they are seated to your left.

Once they are seated to your left, facing front (the same direction as you), then give them the treat that you were holding in your left hand. Repeat this by moving to face your dog in front of them, putting a treat in your left hand, and guiding them back to your left again. Practice will make this automatic, and soon, the "heal" command will prompt your dog to always sit on your left side, facing forward.

The last step, is to start walking with your dog after they are in the sit-heal position. walk a few steps, then stop, and what you want to happen is your dog to resume the sit heal position after you stop. Coax this behavior with the "heal" command if needed, a treat, and if you raise the leash up on them, they will want to sit up to relieve the pressure on their neck. Once they resume the sit-heal position, give them lots of praise and treats.

Once you have them healing with you, and sitting anytime you stop, and resuming the heal position when you are walking, then you have effectively leash trained your dog or puppy. This really focuses your puppy on you while you are walking, because this training has reinforced good walking manners with praise and treats, and in the end, they just want to make you happy, plus it makes for a positively enjoyable walking experience, and won't you two look sharp walking in unison!

Timberwolf Organics recalls two products

Timberwolf Organics has announced that it is recalling two product lines - Dakota Bison and Ocean Blue, based on consumer reports:

"Due to recent reports from some customers, we have ordered that two formulas from three specific dates be pulled from the shelves. These are:

Dakota Bison with ‘best by date’ of 12 Feb 2009
Ocean Blue with ‘best by date’ of 20 Feb 2009
Ocean Blue with best by date’ of 8 March 2009

The reported symptoms include dogs refusing to eat, diarrhea or vomiting. While the problem is inconsistent (not every dog eating food from those dates/bag show the symptoms and not every bag), to err on the side of caution have decided to pull the formulas produced with the above dates. Initial testing has come back negative for problems and further testing is pending results.

As soon as the cause of this reported problem is determined procedures will be put into place to ensure that an event like this cannot happen again. Please be assured that no other formulas and Ocean Blue and Dakota Bison with dates other than ones listed above are not affected."

For more information visit their website, or email customer.support@timberwolforganics.com

Dog Food and Treats to Avoid For the Health of Your Dog

I found this blog the other day. The headline was the same as the one above that I used. It was interesting in the fact it was really tugging at the "scary strings" to frighten you into avoiding all commercial pet foods and treats, and to cook for your pet at home. The website is "supposed" to be laden with recipes to help you accomplish this goal. After I checked out the website, I was a little stunned at how they completely bashed "all treats".

The problem I have with this website is that there is "some" truth in the articles Jennifer writes about. But here is where I draw the line. First, she talks about all dog treats are bad, all commercial dog foods are bad, here's a sampling recipe of something healthy you can bake at home. (This is their recipe - not mine. This excerpt is from the Pooch Place)

Oatmeal Dog Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1/2 cup butter — cut into pieces
• 4 beef or chicken bouillon cubes
• 2 cups boiling water
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup skim milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups grated cheese
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick
cooking spray.

Mix oats into a medium bowl, top with pieces of butter and the bouillon cubes.

Pour in boiling water and let sit 10 minutes to dissolve the butter and bouillon.

Mix well, then add whole wheat flour, cornmeal, sugar, milk, eggs and cheese.

Add enough of the all purpose flour to make a stiff dough.

Mix well

Roll out dough. The thinner the dough, the crisper the baked treats will be.

Use a cookie cutter to cut out cookies in fun shapes.

Bake on prepared cookie sheets until hard, 5-15 minutes depending on how thin the dough is rolled.

Remove from cookie sheets and cool completely.
This recipe makes 4 dozen cookies

Do you guys see what I see up there? 2 tablespoons of sugar. Hmmmm...interesting. This seems to conflict with her core message - that what you bake at home "will always be healthier for your pet". But wait! Theres more!

This whole website - and at least two others that I find all linked to the same information, seems to be interested in selling us one thing - an ebook that is supposed to be telling us how to feed our pets. If this recipe indicates the quality of the ebook, I think I would be a little skeptical of what I was reading.

This proves to me there is one valuable bit of knowledge that is helpful in determining what to and what not to feed your pet - and that is to pay close attention to the ingredients yourself. Sugar doesn't need to be in any dog treat - even the ones you make yourself. This blog loves to talk about obesity, heart and kidney failure, and a myriad of other health problems, but are they selling you a real product, or are they selling you the hype?