Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Healthy Human Foods for Dogs

As responsible pet owners, we all know that a lot of human foods out there are bad for our mutts. Most of them are even bad for us to consume as humans! But then, there are some foods we can, and are even encouraged, to feed our little furry friends.

Below are three foods that can be added to your dogs' regular diet for an even more nutritional bowl:

  • Yogurt - Yogurt is a good sources of calcium and protein for humans and your mutts. Be sure to feed your dogs yogurts that have live active bacteria and no sugar or artificial sweeteners. It's also healthier to feed your mutts fat free yogurt.
  • Apples - Apples are a great sources of vitamin A, C, and fibre for the body. However, it's best to NOT feed your mutts the core of the apples since the seeds contain cyanide and are hard on their digestive systems. When feeding pieces of apples to your dogs, keep the skin on the apples because they contain chemicals that are healthy, (the skin is also known to help with reducing risk of cancer for humans).
  • Oatmeal - Oatmeal has soluble fibre and serves as a good alternative for grains in the diet for dogs that are allergic to wheat. It's important to feed your mutts fully cooked oatmeal with no sugar or flavor added to receive the full nutritional benefits of the food.
Keep in mind that all of these foods are NOT to replace your mutts' regular diet, but to compliment it and be used as a tasty treat. Feed these foods in moderation, and be sure to consult your trusted vet if your dogs have specific allergies,  upset stomachs, and/or have shown other irregular health changes.

Keep your mutts happy, healthy, and hearty!

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Benefits to Walking a Dog on a Treadmill

While the best method to exercising your dog is by taking a walk outside three times a day, we all know that the chances of that happening everyday for twelve or fifteen years is not realistic. Dog owners may be too busy, may have physical limitations, may run into extreme weather conditions, and/or are just too lazy to do so. Whatever the reason, getting your dog exercise is still better than having them sit around all day and doing nothing.

Even though you shouldn't replace this method permanently with going out for walks, having your mutts exercise on a treadmill can be a temporary option to get your dogs to move. If you have a high energy dog that needs more than three-times-a-day walk and you (for whatever reason) cannot provide that, then the treadmill can also be a really good addition. Sometimes treadmill exercises are also essential to helping a dog rehabilitate from an injury or aging. To find out what types of treadmills are best for your mutts, visit http://cmln.co/Z0bL5c

A lot of times shelters would use a treadmill to help walk their dogs because their are either short-staffed or need to help drain the energy from their hyper mutts. Taking care of a dog is a long-term commitment, so making sure that your mutts are healthy through exercise is the key to a happy and well-balanced dog.

Keep your mutts happy, healthy, and hearty!