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   Our Puppies are more than Pets...

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I am a firm believer in nutrition. Our bodies as well as our pets bodies are made to heal their self given the proper nutrition.  That being said,  there is the need to balance medicine and nutrition.  Some things need to be treated rapidly or aggressively with medicine. Too often we as humans look always for the quick fix or how to treat the symptom instead of trying to find the root of the health problem.  Most Veterinarians are not Nutritionists. They are just like human doctors, some are more into learning why and what is causing the problem, while others will just treat that one symptom, which a lot of times only will help temporarily. Ask other pet owners about their vet and ask your vet questions.  Research things for yourself.  Make sure you understand any treatment your vet is prescribing for your pet.  Too often we blame our vet if things don't go right with our animals.  Make sure they have all the facts and are committed and versed in your pets treatment and well being. Most vets appreciate any literature or research you have done if you and they are in a quandary about your pet's health. So many things are normal every day issues for your vet and easy to treat. So many chronic conditions are really a result of improper nutrition and can be treated and corrected gradually through proper nutrition.

 

*  Our main focus is on NUTRITION. Too many breeders of dogs over worm, over vaccinate and over medicate their puppies. This just harms their newly developing immune systems. We do worm  and all our puppies go to a licensed Vet for fecals, exam, shots and health certificate. We let our puppies nurse as long as possible. We don't vaccinate until they are 8 weeks of age.  We do make sure our puppies have had the kennel cough or bordetella vaccine.

Dr. Collier is always thorough in his examination of our puppies

We keep our puppies until they are 10 weeks old, 12 weeks or more on any tinies.  You have less problems with your new puppy this way.  If a puppy is going to have any development problems they usually are evident by age 12 weeks. They have developed more, have a better immune system and are on a more consistent eating schedule by this stage of growth.  They are not as prone to hypoglycemia at this age. They are learning their independence at this stage and are more inquisitive and are more mature at handling new experiences.

*  We give our puppies probiotics (good bacteria) 3 times a week.  This helps with digestion and helps keep the bad bacteria at bay. We use yogurt or a powdered form of  probiotics like Bene-Bac that you can get from most pet stores.  You can add yogurt to your pets wet food and they love it. If you can get orgainic yogurt it is better, if not we use Yoplait or Dannon yogurt, we use Plain, French Vanilla, Strawberry and even Peach flavored yogurt.  The dogs love it.  It makes for a healthy treat with just a  teaspoon for a tiny puppy or a Tablespoon for a 5-10 lb dog to a 1/4 cup for a larger dog.  You can give it to them plain or add it to their food.

*  Enzymes are naturally occurring in raw fruits and vegetables and in raw meat and eggs. Enzymes are necessary for the uptake and utilization of the vitamins and minerals that we and our dogs ingest.  We are both mammals. Mammals need probiotics and enzymes.  Enzymes are missing from most pet diets due to overcooking food.  If you microwave anything it kills the enzymes, the vitamins and the minerals. We get ours from yogurt and from raw fruits and vegetables.  Our dogs can get them the same way and from raw meat, which as carnivores God created them to eat. I like to add a raw egg at least once a week and give raw beef at least twice a week to my adult dogs and puppies. I usually add yogurt on the days that I give raw beef.  Most healthy dogs dog fine with any bacteria from the raw meat, but I add the yogurt to give them a boost of the benefical bacteria to ward off the bad.  I try to add raw egg at least once a week to our dogs and cats food. They really love the raw egg.  You also can purchase enzymes supplements for your pets.  www.onlynaturalpet.com  carries a product that contains enzymes and probiotics(beneficial bacteria). Raw honey is a natural source for enzymes and minerals.  Look for a local honey, then you will have the added benefit from local collected pollen from the bees to combat against allergies.  Honey can be added to your dog's food.  It mixes great with peanut butter and coconut oil. When changing your dog's diet, do it gradually and add these new things; like yogurt, egg, coconut oil, honey,raw meat, etc. in minimal amounts until their digestive system adjusts.  Just like us as humans, any major change to a diet can cause diarrhea or vomiting. The body is trying to rid itself of the bad bacteria and pollutants in the system. Changing too fast can cause a toxic cleansing effect where the body is ridding itself of a lifetime of bad build up and has too many toxins in the blood stream breaking up and being released.  This can be an overload for the kidneys and liver, so gradual adjustments are a safer way to approach getting a healthier body. This way the system can easily filter out the build up of toxins a little at a time.

*  Our puppies get well water from a natural aquifer that is filtered. We do not give them chlorinated water.

Use stainless steel or ceramic dishes for your dog to help with tear staining.  Plastic is porous and will absorb excess mineral deposits, bacteria and anything else.  I use stainless steal for all our water dishes and recommend it for your food dishes as well.

*  We feed our puppies and adult dogs Iams Mini Chunks, Blue or Natural Balance wet and dry dog food.  This is one of the all natural dog foods on the 2012 Whole Dog Journal's good food list.  If you can't find Natural Balance dog food at a pet store near you, it can be ordered and shipped to you from www.jefferspet.com.  They are located in Dothan, AL.  There are several other great natural pet foods you can get for your dog and that we recommend as well.  Go to www.whole-dog-journal.com  to get a current list of the approved list that has been researched for 2013. They list wet and dry foods. You will find the new list in the February issue. Click on the logo below to find a store near you that carries NATURAL BALANCE DOG FOOD.

Our puppies are introduced to the other pets in our home at 3 weeks of age, prior to this we play classical music for them during the day to stimulate brain development.  We have playpens that we bring out into our kitchen and den, so they can start getting acquainted with household sounds and other pets. At 4 weeks of age we let them begin to interact with the other puppies and dogs in our home.  By 5 weeks of age they think they rule the house, which really does seem to be the way of things.  They get to run under foot literally during the day. You really can see their personalities develop during this time. They start to investigate the doggie door at 5 weeks old and have it mastered by 6 weeks of age.

Nurti Cal or Nutri Stat are very important to have for any puppy under the age of 1 year old.  Puppies are just like babies, they need to eat.  They can play too hard or get stressed and be prone to hypoglycemia.  This is when their blood sugar gets too low. You may only notice your puppy walking or acting a little different at first but it can result in tremors and eventually seizures.  This is life threatening!  Your puppy needs nutrients immediately.  Give them Nutri Stat or Nutri Cal.  If they are unconscious then get some in their mouth.  Their body will absorb it. I give this to all my puppies before they fly and  ship a tube with them.  I require their new family to give some to them as soon as they get their puppy.  I recommend Nutri Stat for families with children to give their puppies because sometimes kids play with the puppies when they should rest. Give between their morning and evening meals and at bedtime. It squeezes out like toothpaste.  Just put a little on your finger, anywhere from 1/2 inch to 1 inch will do depending upon the weight and age of the puppy. I like to give a little to puppies before bedtime when they are weaning off their mothers.  I sleep better and know they have received enough nutrition till their next feeding.  I give it to our nursing mothers also. When traveling carry some.  If your puppy throws up then give them Nutri Cal or Nutri Stat.  It can also be used for a sick or recovering dog or puppy that may not be eating. Remember this is for caloric and nutritional supplementing.  Your pet always needs fresh drinking water accessible to them as well to prevent dehydration.

*  Our puppies really do get to run around with the other dogs in our home.  They are use to larger dogs being with them, so big dogs aren't a fright to them.  They are familiar with cats and bunnies also. We have other people in our home on a weekly basis, so your puppy will not have a problem adjusting to you or other new people. Some of our puppies really get use to our cats as seen in these photos.   

  

*  Cooking for your pet can be easier than you think.  Too many dog foods are full of starch, fillers, preservatives and just plain junk.  If you remember that your dog needs 70% protein from a meat source and the remaining 30% from fruit, vegetables and very little in carbohydrates, then you can easily prepare their meals.  The canine species need only 20% maximum carbohydrates to a minimum of 5%. You can feed your dog a lot cheaper by preparing meals rather than with processed dog food and will get a better nutritional content. I cook chicken livers once a week for our dogs. Just rinse the livers and place in a large pot covered with water.  Cook on low heat until they turn gray.  You can add  brown rice( white rice has no nutritional content) or oats to the water when cooking or cook it separate and add to the chicken livers.  Livers are high in protein and iron, and your dog will love them and cooking them on very low heat with water preserves the vitamin and mineral content. Our puppies and our adult dogs get raw meat usually twice a week.  This is another source of natural enzymes. So many people, including vets think that your dog or cat can get salmonella from raw meat.  I would not give a sick animal that has a compromised immune system raw meat right away, but a healthy dog or cat can gradually have it added to their diet and do well.  God made them to be carnivores and eat raw meat.  They have just a few feet of intestinal tract, so food does not stay in their system very long and doesn't have the chance for basically fermenting or turning bad.  Sometimes your adult dog or cat will not eat for a day.  As long as they are drinking water, are a grown adult and then after a day go back to eating then realize this is their way of fasting and cleansing their system.  Most Zoos will fast their cat species one day a week, just like they do in the wild.  This is their way of purging their body and kicking in their immune system.

Another easy way to cook a meal for your dogs is in the crock pot.  I put a whole chicken in with oats or barley and frozen vegetables.  I let it cook all day until the meat just falls off the bones.  I let it cool and debone it. I like to buy chicken thighs because there is only 1 bone in a thigh to take out. You have not spent all day cooking,  your dogs will love getting to eat the nutritious meal they smelled cooking all day. Extra is easy to freeze or refrigerate for the next meal. For flavor and acidic levels add some crushed or diced tomatoes. Dogs and cats need a higher acidic ph than we do as humans. For recipes go to my recipe page where I have several recipes and a few books referenced that are great tools in learning about proper nutrition for your cat or dog.

* Coconut oil is great for you and your pet.  It's fatty acid called caprylic acid kills candida bacteria.  This is the bad bacteria that will manifest itself as allergies and hot spots and incessant itching in your dog. Chronic ear infections can be a result of two major factors; parasites and too much yeast in the body.  Candida bacteria thrive on yeast in the body as a result of too much starch and sugar in the diet.  Read my article on my PoosNews page on Coconut Oil.  The Whole Dog Journal has written several articles about the benefits of coconut oil.  You only need a very small amount for a 5-10 lb dog, like 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon a couple times a week for maintenance.

*  Egg shells are a great source of calcium.  I rinse and dry all our egg shells then grind them up in the blender or coffee grinder and add to our dogs wet food.  A dog needs 800-1000 mg of calcium a day.  A ground eggshell should provide you with 2000 mg of calcium.  A good reference is 1/2 teaspoon of ground eggshell. If you have a garden the egg shells are great to add calcium back into the soil.  If you cook for your pet and don't give raw bones or don't grind up bones then you must supplement their diet with calcium.  Nursing mother dogs need a calcium phosphorus supplement daily until puppies are weaned. You can get a great cheese flavored calcium phosphorus powder from www.jefferspet.com

*  Do you ever get ants and worry about chemicals to kill them.   Diatomaceous earth  will kill insects without harming your pet.  It is a natural wormer that can be added to your pets food.  It actually adds trace minerals to their systems without any harmful side effects. Can be used on your pet for fleas also.  This product is safe for rabbits also. Wolf Creek Ranch in California carries organic, human food grade diatomaceous earth.  Click here for their information and to order http://wolfcreekranch.net/diatomaceous_earth.html

*  If you prefer to use a chemical wormer on your puppy or dog, we prefer Safeguard with fenbendazole.  It can be used safely on pregnant and nursing dogs as well as on puppies over 6 weeks of age.  I like this wormer because you give it over the course of 3 days with food, which makes it gentler on the system.  It will eliminate roundworms, hookworms, whipworms and tapeworms.  Some breeders use it for 5 days to also aide in the mitigation of any protazoans(one-celled organisms) such as coccidia or giardia. Coccidia and giardia are more common in puppies under 6 months of age because their immune systems are still developing.  These  protazoans cannot be killed by  any known medicines.  So if you are using a chemical you are just stopping the reproduction of them.  Your puppy's immune system is the only true eliminator of these.  Therefore a nutritionally healthy puppy is your best eliminator of these.  A great approach is to use the diatomaceous earth   which can be purchased from www.wolfcreekranch.net at a rate of 1 teaspoon in their wet food for 3 weeks; for cats it is 1/2 teaspoon.  You can powder it on all your pet's dry food as well. This will eliminate the existing problem and if you use it for 3 weeks  you will rid your pet of any larvae that develop during that normal 14 to 21 day cycle. For tapeworms it takes 30 days.  Diatomaceous is completely safe and free of any chemicals.  It is not harmful to your pets kidneys or liver.  It actually will add trace minerals to their system. It is recommended to use for 3-4 weeks once every quarter of the year. It can safely be added to food 365 days a year with no problems. This method is very economical as well.  Also, you can order a natural wormer from  Molly's Herbals at www.fiascofarm.com  This is an herbal formula that you use one herbal mix once a week and then another herbal mix for 3 days every 6-8 weeks.  I have recently used this program with puppies from birth with no other wormer and had completely clear fecals when taking puppies in for health certificates.

*  If you are having a behavior issue with your pet, may we suggest looking at their diet first and then how we as humans are treating them.  An absolute must to watch is The Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel with Cesar Millan.  He also has a book , Cesar's Way that has just been published last year. www.nationalgeographic.com

*  Acupuncture is very beneficial for injured pets.  It helps with arthritis, bone healing, spinal problems, dogs recovering from surgery and accidents and even dogs that are just too hyper.  We have had great success with acupuncture for our dogs and cats.  We use and recommend Dr. Margaret Fowler D.V.M. here in Panama City, Fl. She does in home calls for acupuncture and can be contacted at 850-234-HERB

*  We focus on Nutrition, Nurturing and Socialization with all our pets.  We think every pet should be spoiled from birth and know that they are special while still allowing them to be the magnificent animals that God created them to be.

We hope you think this way too.

For more on nutrition and reference books go to our Recipe Page

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