Tag Archives: dogs

Dry Dog Food – Good Way to Pamper Your Pet

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Pampering your pet should be all about giving them what they like, rather than what you want for them. The nice thing about dogs is that, they are easy to please. Simply giving them tasteful and nutritious food at the right feeding schedule will already make them happy. The amount of food that you need to give to your dog can be determined according to their breed, age, body size and activity level. Pet owners have their own preference when it comes to feeding their dogs. Some prefer raw food diet and home-cooked dog food. While others give their pets canned or dry dog food that can easily be bought at different supermarkets. This is also a good way to feed them, especially if you do not have time to cook or make homemade goodies.

Several brands of dry dog food can be seen in grocery stores. This is cheaper compared to semi-wet and wet dog foods. It is considered more nutritious than canned foods. However, various brands of these products are found to contain many types of filler, which is not necessary to a dog’s diet. Look for those brands that have high quality proteins and carbohydrates such as animal meat, potatoes and whole grains. Low quality products may contain wheat, corn and soy, which can often cause allergies in dogs. Therefore, if your canine has been experiencing skin allergies lately, a hypoallergenic dog food is best to give them.

There are many ways of showing extra care and attention to your dog. Just the thought of buying them nice clothes to wear on and personalized dog collars for their safety means a lot. On top of it, giving your pet tasty and nutritious dry food is a healthy way to pamper them. At the grocery, you will see different brands of foods that will give your dog optimum health. Each product is claiming to be the healthiest food. However, it is still best to check carefully on the label before buying a certain product. Make sure that it contains all the necessary and right amount of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals needed for them to have a healthy and active body. The best dry food should not contain any food coloring, preservatives and fillers, which may cause harm to their health. The pet food safety is also a major concern that one should not overlook when planning to feed your dogs with dry food.

Should You Be Concerned About Your Dog Scratching?

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While all dogs scratch from time to time, it’s when the scratching is non-stop that you need to step in. Most of the time, we don’t even notice when our dogs scratch. When you really start noticing it, is when it happens all the time, or when there are long scratching fits. And this is when you should start being concerned.

Prolonged scratching damages the skin. This can leads to tears in the skin, which can then lead to secondary infections, mainly because they keep scratching. But they can’t help themselves. The constant itching and scratching also stresses your dog, which causes anxiety, which in turn causes more itching or sometimes results in other destructive behavior. The most common reasons for excessive dog scratching is fleas, dry skin, mange, and allergies.

While flea bites can cause an itchy feeling, many dogs are actually allergic to the flea bites. This allergic reaction makes them itch for up to a week or two after the initial bite. But fleas are easy to control – at least easier than some allergies. Start with a long bath to kill the fleas on their body. Make sure you wash and vacuum the areas where your dog sleeps and lies. You may need to treat your house. You may also need to treat your yard for fleas.

Dry skin is another condition that causes your dog to scratch a lot. Essential fatty acids are lost in many dog foods due to the way the food is processed. This leaves your dog without nutrients that they need for healthy skin. Improve your dog’s nutrition, like add in a dog coat supplement, and you will notice some itchy dog skin relief.

Mange is caused by a microscopic mite that burrows into your dog’s skin and causes itching. Not all mange results in itching – it depends on the type of mite. Mange should be diagnosed and treated by your vet. A regular bath does nothing to kill mites.

Allergies are one of the worst offenders that cause intense itching. They are the worst because they are so hard to pinpoint what exactly is causing the problem. The best place to start is with their dog food. Switch to a super-premium dog food with limited ingredients. This helps isolate them from offending ingredients as well as strengthen their immune system and create a overall healthier dog – one that is able to withstand allergens better. If changing the dog food doesn’t help, then you need to really start digging into your dog’s environment to find the trigger. Dogs can be allergic to just about anything, such as pollen, dust, rubber, pesticides, grasses, fabrics – just to name a few.

A little scratch here and there is nothing to worry about. But constant scratching, or scratching in fits is. Your dog is suffering and it is up to you to figure out why and put an end to it.

Great Danes, Dogs of Dignity and Distinction

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Despite their name, Great Danes are an ancient breed believed to trace their ancestry as far back as 2200-2000 B.C. based on drawings of canines found in the tombs of Beni-Hassan in Egypt. Giant dogs with Dane-like appearances can also be seen on ancient Greek and Roman coins dating as far back as 400 B.C. And although no one would guarantee that the breed has remained pure since then, most likely having mixed with various other large canine strains since then, dogs shown with a remarkable resemblance to modern Danes have been depicted in paintings throughout the Middle Ages throughout Europe.These have included in Florence as well as England, where they were once used to hunt boars.

Today, Great Danes have earned the nickname “The World’s Largest Lap Dog, and anyone who has ever owned one can attest to their penchant for leaning against, or sitting on their owners in a desire for closeness. Their friendly natures also make them generally well-disposed toward other dogs and family pets. They also remain one of the tallest breeds.

According to the American Kennel Club, the ideal Great Dane should be squarely built in ratio between height and length, with males standing at least 30 inches and females a minimum of 28 inches tall at the shoulder. Danes also display a combination of strength and dignity as well as smoothly muscles bodies beneath short-haired coats of either harlequin (black patches on a white body), brindle (fawn and black in a tiger-stripe pattern), black, fawn (golden with a black mask) or a steel blue.

Some, referred to as mantle are black and white in patterns similar to those of Boston terriers.  These, however, are said to have the same genetic link to blindness and deafness found in Merle (grey) and white danes. Although they have naturally floppy, triangular ears, it was once the custom to have them cropped, both for cosmetic reasons as well as to protect them during hunts. However, most American owners now forego the practice, while other countries such as Denmark, Germany, the UK, Australia and New Zealand have banned it outright.

(Image courtesy of BestDogBreed.org)

How can I save money with dog food coupons?

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Looking for a way to save yourself some money on your dog food? While many people save money by buying cheaper and less healthy pet foods, there is a better way to save money that will not sacrifice your dog overall well being. Dog food coupons are an excellent way to save money on this particularly expensive product without having to buy lesser quality pet food. This is something that can allow people to not only live more frugally but also not sacrifice their pets health.

A great place to start your coupon search using your local Sunday paper. Many people are unaware of this but your local needs Sunday paper provides you with several different coupon filled circulars. You will find several different money saving coupons and the circulars, including dog food coupons. This is a very simple and effective way to start collecting coupons that will help you lower your dog food costs.

There is another way that you can get your hands on more money saving dog food coupons and that is to visit the website of your favorite dog food manufacturer. For instance, if you and your pet prefer Pedigree dog food, you can get your hands on Pedigree dog food coupons by visiting the companies website and looking for any promotional links. More often than not, these companies will allow customers to print out coupons directly from their computers. These printable dog food coupons can be used any where that clip-able coupons can.

The last method that we’re going to go over today is called couponing groups. All these groups were created so that frugal minded individuals can trade coupons that they are not planning on using for those that they can. This is an excellent way for you to make the most out of every single coupons you come across while allowing you to build your dog food coupon collection be even bigger.

If saving money is something that interests you, the methods above will help you do so, at least on one of the most expensive items that you will need to purchase each and every time you visit the grocery store. Stay vigilant and gather as many dog food coupons as you can. This will ensure that you will never have to pay full price for dog food again.