Labrador Retriever Dogs Blog

(CNN) — Food banks across the country kicked into high gear for the holiday season this week in an effort to feed America's hungry. But a few instead homed in on an often overlooked casualty of hard times — the family pet.

"It's the forgotten pets that go by the wayside," said Ann King, founder of an Atlanta-based nonprofit group called Save Our Pets Food Bank.

Appalled by tales of pet owners compelled to hand over their cats and dogs to shelters, King formed her organization in 2008 in an effort to provide cash-strapped owners a way to keep their canine and feline friends.

Each year, between 3 million and 4 million cats and dogs in shelters are euthanized, according to The Humane Society of the United States, a Washington-based animal advocacy group.

"I've had people say to me, 'I'm down to my last half bag (of pet food) and I don't know what to do,'" King said. "People sometimes just cry because they need help."

CNN.com – U.S.

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Warning: Extremely Graphic Photos Contained Within this Video Charges Dropped in Katrina Dog Killings In the days following Hurricane Katrina, former Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Minton and Sergeant Clifford (Chip) Englande were video taped by David Leeson, a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer for The Dallas Morning News. Patrolling the hurricane devastated region of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, one sequence in the video shows dogs being shot, another shows the men driving away, leaving a mortally wounded black Labrador retriever on the street. Video can be viewed here…. www.youtube.com Additional footage can be viewed here… youtube.com In a subsequent interview recorded by Leeson, Minton acknowledged shooting the dogs, citing safety and humanitarian concerns. Indictments were obtained by Charles Foti in November 2006 and both men were indicted on charges of Aggravated Animal Cruelty. A State Grand Jury concluded that they fatally shot numerous dogs that had been separated from their owners and were roaming the streets after Katrina swamped the Parish. State Drops Dog Death Case Citing insufficient evidence, the new Attorney General James Caldwell, Foti’s replacement, has dropped the animal cruelty charges against Minton and Englande. Filed Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 in 34th Judicial District Court in Chalmette, Louisiana Despite the existence of probable cause for the arrest and sufficient evidence for a grand jury indictment, considering all the facts and …

Your pet dog or cat or tiger or lion can be inflicted with ear infection and the question is, do you have the ear to “listen” to their pains and suffering when they have ear infection? Or to put it specifically, do you have the eyes and the ears to look for an ear product for pets? It’s a good thing you have or else you wouldn’t come here looking for one.

As a responsible pet owner, what would you do to contain the cause of pet ear infection or maybe, even prevent its inception? Offline or online, there are several proven effective ear care methods that would likely to work to hamper the harmful activities of fungus, bacteria or mites deep down in the long, narrow and intricate ear canal of your pet.

There are some preventive measures that you might already be aware to prevent ear infection in your pet. Some of these are general and regular cleaning of its ears, trying to see to it that no excess water gets inside the ears and of course, giving them the best nutrients that they can get from their foods. Always remember, although foods are the basic needs of animals other than human and plant life forms, it is also true to animals that what they eat can also be dangerous for them.

For example, it’s always a no-no to feed a dog with chocolates and you know why? It’s because they are prone to allergic reactions. There are foods that can affect their skin and their fur and there are foods that can make them feel so itchy that they will not stop scratching their ears, for instance, even if there are evidences of blood. Doing this can also result to animal ear infection.

Now, however, if the case is getting severe, if there are some recurring infections, conventional treatment will not be able to solve the problem or bring about a sustained or permanent healing for your pet’s condition. It is time to consult a veterinarian where he can prescribed antibiotics and other medications.

If you should opt for a more holistic approach in the treatment, the application of topical pet herbal supplements will guarantee to get rid of the root cause of the problem and not just to neutralize ear parasites. And it would be a relief to know that herbal supplements has no side-effects unlike conventional medicines that has a debilitating effect, ranging from a loss of appetite to vigorous vomiting that could cause certain death.

You might say, “Hey, it’s just an ear infection and why would my beloved die from it?” Actually, your pet will die because of your negligence and not because of ear infections or any other diseases or illnesses.

Just as with humans, you have to be very attentive to your pet’s needs and they really need your utmost care and concern. So, do you have the ear for its ear infection? Don’t waste another second to find an ear product for pets and when doing so, you’re not just concerned about your pet’s health but you’re also concerned with the unconventional love and relationship you have with your pet.

If you have a new puppy or dog, then you need to provide some sort of basic training for your pet. You can train your dog yourself or can get it trained through an obedience instructor. As dogs are like kids, they need proper training to mould them into obedient pets. With the required training, your dog can learn how to behave. You can be a happy owner if you have a trained dog. Dog training involves learning to communicate with a dog properly. You can train young pups within 2 to 3 weeks while for an older dog it can take about 7 to 8 weeks for training. Basic training can be started for pups when they are about 8 -12 weeks old for teaching commands and tricks. From about 3 to 6 months, formal classes can begin.

With understanding and patience, the trainer can impart efficient training to resolve the behavioral problems of dogs. For adequate training of your dog, you do not require any strong language or physical discipline. There are a number of methods for making training enjoyable for both your dog and yourself. Certain specific trainings are also available for dogs for doing tasks such as rescue dogs, guiding for the blind, hunting dogs etc.

When providing training for your dog, ensure that the place is open and quiet without any distractions. You can make the training experience an enjoyable one for both of you for ensuring that your dog stays happy, gains confidence and behaves well. The way and tone of speech is important in dog training. You need to use a friendly and happy tone for commands like ‘come’ and ‘heel’. Your voice can be firm and low for commands such as ‘ stay’ and ‘Sit down’. You need to appreciate your puppy or dog by offering some toy or food when it obeys the command. After the training class, you can take a little time to play with your pup or dog and this can develop a bond between both of you during the training. You should have good endurance to train and always should avoid harsh punishment.

Remember that food is important in dog training, as most dogs will love to eat. Some foods are tasty for dogs and it is also convenient for the trainer as bits of food can be kept in bag or pockets. Also note that giving food brings positive associations while training. You need to just know which food your dog likes. Never use food for behavior control; instead food should support a behavior. Never train the dog on a full stomach.

Keep the leash a bit loose when you walk with your dog because a tight leash could teach the dog to pull. Do not punish the dog after calling to you. Only one command should be given at any one time. Dogs cannot differentiate the good and bad deeds, as they know specific behavior to certain situations; therefore name a behavior to reinforce some control. Behavior will increase with reward.

You can also choose online dog training if a dog trainer or dog training school is not accessible. You can enroll for some online dog training classes and know all the secrets and techniques used by professional dog trainers for activity training, behavior training and obedience training.

Vegetables in your dog’s diet, and minor amounts in your cat’s diet, can enhance their health and provide a rich and diverse supply of nutrients, enzymes, healthy fibre and antioxidants. In the wild, dogs and cats would have acquired plant foods through the semi-digested remnants in the stomachs of their prey; vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.

Canines possess a greater ability to break down plant matter and synthesize relevant nutrients therein. Because of this, although classified as carnivores, they are in fact omnivorous and are not solely reliant on animal meat for sustenance. Wolves can be observed eating fallen fruit and berries, and first consume the stomach and intestines of their prey where plant foods can be found.

Felines on the other hand are obligate carnivores and are unable to manufacture essential nutrients from plant matter. These include the amino acids taurine and arginine, and the fatty acid arachidonic acid. Unlike omnivores cats also cannot convert vitamin A from beta-carotene in plants and need animal-derived sources of vitamin A such as liver. Accept for smaller prey which cats eat whole, in the wild the stomach and intestines tend to be avoided, yet organs such as heart, liver and lungs are enjoyed.

Cats require a lot more protein in their diet than dogs and are in no way adapted to digesting carbohydrates. In the wild vegetable matter in their diet is minimal and in a semi-digested state in the guts of their prey. Cats can rely pretty much entirely on protein and fat for energy conversion, both being converted into glucose by the liver, and other essential nutrients can be gained through meat, soft tissue and bones.

Thankfully pet owners are beginning to move away from toxic, poor grade and species-inappropriate commercial pet food. Natural, holistic, homemade and raw diets are being favored, which can include healthy plant-based ingredients (not grains however, which are used as cheap fillers in commercial products and ill-suited the physiology of cats and dogs). The beauty with homemade meals is that you can ensure fresh quality ingredients and easily incorporate vegetables and fruit.

Where dogs can eat around 30% plant foods in their daily diet, cats only require around 5-10%. With both, ensure veggies are blended well as they do not easily digest cellulose. This also makes it easy to mix the vegetables with the rest of the homemade meal. As cats only require a very small proportion of veggies in their meal, you can blend veggies and freeze the mix in an ice-cube tray, defrosting one cube a day for their meals.

Include a range of vegetables and always aim to include something green. Green vegetables contain chlorophyll which is cleansing and detoxifying. Chlorophyll is a great liver ally, assisting in the removal of toxins and heavy metals from the body and also shows anti-carcinogenic potential. Human studies in China have found that chlorophyll may help delay the onset of symptoms of liver cancer caused by mycotoxic grains as are sometimes found in commercial pet foods.

You can use throw away vegetable parts such as outer leaves, ends and stems or left over cooked vegetables that you don’t consume. Raw is always preferable however as nutrient and enzyme content is maximum.

You can supplement your dog or cat’s diet with superfoods such as kelp or alfalfa (the latter more suited for dogs) and algae such as chlorella and spirulina. These are very alkalizing however and as dogs and cats in particular require an acidic diet, only very small amounts are advisable. Always research dosage amounts before giving any kind of supplements.

Vegetable Choices

You can experiment with most vegetables. Try any of the following: carrots, celery, chard, spinach, avocados, kale, squash, watercress, cabbage, turnips, broccoli, peas, green beans, cauliflower and asparagus.

Some below-ground vegetables such as carrots and sweet potatoes are included here. These are higher in sugar content however and as such should be used in smaller proportion to any above-ground vegetable choices. You can add some occasional fruit also such as blueberries, bananas, apples, papaya or pear.

As a note, raw onions are not friendly on your pet’s digestive system and can be dangerous to their health so should be avoided. Garlic is also a health risk for cats, though minor amounts occasionally in your dog’s diet may serve as a natural flea repellent, be sparing however as the sulphides in garlic can be detrimental to the blood cells of animals. I also avoid tomatoes, peppers, cucumber and potato.

Nuts and seeds can also be a valuable addition to your pet’s diet, containing healthy oils (walnuts and flaxseeds are particularly high in omega-3 oils), as well as vitamin E and minerals such as selenium (a powerful antioxidant particularly high in Brazil nuts).

You can grind your nuts and seeds before adding to your pet’s meal. Only small amounts are needed; for larger dogs aim for one nut or a few seeds a day, smaller dogs and cats every few days.

If you would like to change your pet’s diet to a healthy, holistic, species-appropriate diet or are embarking on a natural homemade or raw food diet research the area first as nutritional balance is essential.