It has been over a year since the massive recall on many different commercial pet foods. Since then what has changed? The sad truth is, not much… since the recalls there have only been a few new safety measures implemented.

Don’t get me wrong, there is legislation being discussed and passed and the commercial pet food industry is making recommendations on how quality and safety can be improved. However, many critics say that even once they new legislation is fully implemented it may not do much good.

Here is why, the federal legislation is going to rely on commercial dog food manufacturers to recall contaminated pet food on their own. The fact that recalls will be voluntary raises concerns that there will be breaches. Advocates of the legislation point out that there are going to be breaches regardless of whether the recalls are voluntary or regulated. Regulated recalls however would be stricter.

Unfortunately we do not currently have a national tracking system that monitors pet deaths. So we do not have a exact number on how many cats and dogs were killed when they consumed the pet food that had been made with the ingredients that were imported from China and tainted with melamine.

The FDA received more then 14000 complaints about pet food in the 30 days that followed the historic pet food recall. The FDA failed to report more then the initial 14 deaths. Of those 14 pet deaths, nine of them were lab animals from a commercial pet food manufacturer.

Where does this leave us? Right now the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians is running an ongoing study and to date they have found approximately 220 certified deaths of pets that lost their life due to the contaminated food. The current belief is that there were thousands of deaths due to the contaminated pet food and that there are approximately tens of thousands more that were affected by contaminated food.

The upside of the massive recall last year is that the commercial pet food industry is becoming more aware of what they need to do to ensure that the proper safety measures are being implemented and that they are being followed.

The Pet Food Institute, the National Pet Food Commission, the FDA and retailers are working together to develop more efficient ways to get recalled food off the store shelves, and a better way to inform pet owners. The FDA Amendments Act of 2007 made it so that the FDA must set up an early warning system that will not only identify contaminated food outbreaks, but it will also pick up illness outbreaks that are associated with commercial pet foods.

The FDA is also working with veterinarians and industry reps to come up with standards for pet food ingredients as well as definitions, updated labeling requirements and processing standards. The FDA has one year from September 2007 to have the early warning system implemented and two years from that date to have the needed standards and definitions in place.

All the legislation is a good start. However many pet owners remain skeptical. This skepticism has led to an increase demand for organic pet products and an interest in learning how to make homemade dog food. There are currently about 20 different companies that are now promoting organic, human grade, natural food products. This isn’t a new trend in the pet food industry, it was simple given a big push after the recalls last year.

There are many pet owners that remain skeptical over how safe commercial dog foods are. The skepticism is understood. After all, your dog is more then just a dog, he or she is a part of your family.

The Pooch Place is dedicated to providing you information on how to keep your pet safe. There you will find information on how to make your own homemade dog food to orthopedic dog beds. Visit The Pooch Place today.

Tags: dog food, holistic dog food, homemade dog food, pet, pets, dog nutrition, dog health, dogs

Being a pet owner is a lot like being a parent of a small child. Both dogs and children love to run and play and be adventurous. All the fun and adventure can lead to injuries. The best thing to do as a pet owner is to make sure that you have a pet first aid kit prepared and stocked so that you can care for your pet in case of emergency.

To make your dog first aid kit you need is a small plastic tackle box or tool box to hold all of the needed supplies. Make sure that you periodically check your first aid kit, to make sure that the supplies are well stocked and to make sure that you do not have any expired medications.

Take a sharpie marker or create a label to place on the outside of the box. Make sure that you clearly write your name, address and phone number on the kit in case it gets lost. It is probably a good idea that you also include your vet’s name and phone number on the box, as well as the number of the local emergency pet facility.

You are also going to want to include other emergency information in your pet first aid kit, such as your pet’s vaccination record, surgical and medical history, whether or not they have any allergies. Put a recent picture of your dog in the first aid kit as well and include their birth date, breed type and sex.

Once you have all the emergency information in your pet first aid kit, you are ready to get the needed supplies. Here is a list of what should be in your first aid dog kit:

• Roll Cotton
• Some Cotton Balls
  
• Gauze Pads
  
• Gauze Tape
  
• Hydrogen Peroxide (check the expiration date)
  
• Hydrocortisone Ointment
  
• Scissors
  
• Eyewash
  
• Silver Nitrate
  
• Tweezers
  
• Oral Syringes
  
• Balanced Electrolyte Fluid Such as Pedialyte
  
• Baby Food – Meat Flavors Work Best
  
• Large Towel
  
• Exam Gloves
  
• 1 inch White Tape (in addition to gauze tape)
  
• Rolls of Elastic Wrap
  
• Emergency Ice Pack
  
• Thermometer (both oral and rectal thermometers can be used rectally)

It is important to mention that anytime you have someone else caring for your pet that you talk to them about emergency pet care for you dog. Make sure that they have a clear understanding of what you consider an emergency. They will also need to have a way to get a hold of you, a phone number and a name of another person they can contact if they are unable to get a hold of you and where they are to take your pet if there is an emergency.

It is also advisable that you leave a credit card number in the first aid kit to cover the unplanned emergency expenses.

For more information on pet first aid kits visit The Pooch Place. You’ll also find videos for Joe The Vet on how to take care of your puppy, including how to make your own dog first aid kit .

Tags: pet, holistic dog food, dog food, dog nutrition, commercial dog food, dog health, homemade dog food, pets

If you are one of the many dog owners that are taking charge of what their four legged family member is eating, then making homemade dog food is the ideal activity to learn. Believe it or not preparing homemade dog food is not as difficult as many people think it is. As a matter of fact the ingredients you’ll need to prepare natural holistic dog food recipes are the very same ingredients you use to prepare your own meals.

Here we are going to give you a simple breakdown of what goes into homemade dog food. You are going to use ground beef or ground turkey; these are available in the meat section at any grocery store. Naturally you are going to want to choose the meat that is most economical for you, but meat that is also going to give your dog the protein that they need.

Also, just as you wouldn’t serve your family ground beef everyday, your dog isn’t going to want ground beef everyday. So consider getting both ground beef and ground turkey so your pet has variety, and so they get use to digesting both types of meat.

Naturally you aren’t going to only feed your pup just ground meat. You’re going to want to add other ingredients, just as you would for yourself. Making sure that you add green veggies is advisable. The choice is yours as to whether you add raw veggies to raw meat or if you add cooked veggies to cooked meat. Figuring out which vegetables your pet likes won’t take long. Whatever vegetables are left in the bowl… those would be the vegetables they don’t like.

There are a number of homemade dog food recipes that also call for adding rice. Rice is good filler and it is perfectly safe for you dog to eat. You might want to cut up some bread and add it to the meat mixture. If you are giving your dog supplements you might also want to grind those up and mix those in the homemade dog food.

Just as when you are trying to new recipes for yourself, experiment and try different recipes for your dog. This will help you figure out the foods that your dog enjoys and the foods that they don’t. If you’re just starting out with making homemade dog food, remember that you need to introduce the natural food slowly so that their digestive systems can adjust.

There a number of sites on the internet that offer free dog food recipes. There are also books available that will guide you on how to make sure that you are feeding your dog nutritional homemade dog food. By feeding your dog homemade dog food you will begin to see a happier, healthier dog.

To find more information on homemade dog food and natural dog food recipes visit The Pooch Place. There you’ll find all kinds of information to help your puppy have long and happy life.

Tags: homemade dog food, holistic dog food, dog food, pets, dog, dog health, dogs, dog nutrition

The origin of the raw food diet came about ten years ago. At that point it was called the “BARF” diet, which stood for the Bones and Raw Food diet. This diet was created by an Australian veterinarian named Ian Billinghurst. As time passed the diet then became known as the biologically appropriate raw food diet. Today we just simply call it the Raw Food Diet.

If you spend anytime at all on the internet, then you will know that there is a lot of information out there about the raw food diet. There are many people that are strongly for the raw food diet and there are some against it. In this article we are going to give you the pros and the cons of the diet so that you can make the best decision for your dog.

I’m sure that you’ll recall last Spring, that the raw food diet received a lot of attention when numerous commercial dog foods were recalled. The massive recalls made many pet owners pause and consider giving homemade dog food a try. The idea of giving your dog a fresh, varied, rich in enzymes and amino acids type diet became very appealing to many pet owners.

While many people tend to switch to a raw food diet in times of stress such as when your their dog becomes sick, or they develop allergies. However as dog owners become more proactive about making sure that their dogs are getting proper nutrition they are beginning to think along these guidelines, “If this is how I should feed my dog when they are sick… why don’t I feed him this way all the time?”

Some veterinarians are still not comfortable with recommending a diet that mimics what a wild dog would eat, raw meat, pulverized fruit and veggies and bones. Their main concern has to do more with the bacterial contamination and nutritional imbalances and the possibility of internal injuries that can be caused by the bone fragments that can come from chewed bones.

The advocates of the raw food diet counter the bacterial objections by saying that good hygiene is essential in handling raw meat. The majority of healthy dogs are able to tolerate bacteria such as Ecoli. With this in mind if your dog is immune compromised in anyway, the raw food diet may not be the best diet plan for them.

Advocates also point out that if you grind the bones into a hamburger type consistency you then eliminate the risk of bone fragments lodging in the intestinal tract and causing problems. A note about feeding your dog bones…never give them cooked bones. When bones are cooked, they become brittle and can splinter.

As with any new diet it’s not advisable to start your dog on this raw food diet without doing proper research and talking to your vet.

To find out more information on homemade dog food and dog food recipes please visit The Pooch Place .

Tags: dog food, pet, dogs, holistic dog food, dog health, homemade dog food, dog nutrition, pets