Keep Your Pets Safe This Holiday Season

The holidays are a busy time, and can be filled with celebrations with family and friends. For your dog or cat, these celebrations can be a source of stress and even danger. With a little planning, you can make your fur kid's holiday a happy one.

Some traditional seasonal decorations can be toxic to dogs and cats. Holly, poinsettia, ivy and mistletoe are all toxic to pets. If you want these traditional favorites in your home look for artificial versions. The silk versions look great and can be used year after year, saving you some money, too. Tinsel and ribbons can cause a bowel obstruction if your dog or cat eats it, so keep those well out of reach. Wrapped presents look wonderful under the tree, but to avoid your dog opening packages early storing them out of reach is a good idea.

For many families celebrations include a holiday meal. Make sure your dog or cat isn't self serving when you aren't paying attention. Sometimes well meaning relatives are slipping your pup treats when you aren't looking. All of this can cause upset tummies, so plan ahead to avoid the problem. For the family members that really want to give treats, have some healthy dog safe goodies available. Have a long lasting chew or puzzle toy ready to keep your dog busy. Giving your dog some exercise before the guests arrive helps keep excitement levels under control.

Foods to Avoid: Chocolate, onions, avocados, grapes, raisins. Cooked bones of any kind. Turkey skin and gravy are high fat and could cause pancreatitis, a painful inflammation of the pancreas. Raw yeast doughs can cause stomach bloating. The salt dough recipe used for hand made ornaments is very toxic to dogs. Keep these well out of reach.

Foods to Share: white meat turkey, sweet potatoes, green veggies. (Save some out before seasoning or adding butter, cheese or brown sugar).

If a family picture is one of your traditions, don't forget to include your furry family members! It can be challenging to get your cat or dog to cooperate at home, so bring them to our Pet Pictures with Santa! We will be happy to do a family group picture that you will be proud to have on your Holiday cards. All proceeds from this event go to Fido's Companion Rescue so you know you are supporting a good cause, too.

There are some pet friendly holiday events in our area, so follow us on Facebook to see what's going on. www.facebook.com/TheGratefulDogBakery/

The information in this blog came from articles in Dogster Magazine and DogsNaturally.com. If you are looking for well researched and interesting articles, either publication would be a good place to start.

It's never too early to think about flea and tick prevention

Fleas? Ticks?  Wait....it's still winter!

Looking out the window, it seems premature to be discussing flea and tick prevention.

Fleas are not cute...Not even this one.

One of the few good things about this winter is that the deep cold killed off a lot of pests and parasites. But they will rebound when it warms up and you need to think ahead for effective prevention.

Last summer we switched our dogs from topical flea and tick prevention to the all natural alternatives. We wanted to see how effective they were before recommending them to our customers. We used the Healthy Dogma Flee Flea Flee oral and the Ark Naturals Flea Flicker, Tick Kicker spray. Despite all the reports of heavy flea and tick populations from the wet spring last year, I am happy to say we never had a flea or tick. The spray also repels mosquitoes, I'm sure your remember how those were last year! In fact I used the spray for myself when I was out with the dogs, and it was much more pleasant and every bit as effective as the sprays made for people!

If you read the warning labels on the topical flea preventatives it's pretty scary. Do you really want to put that on your dog or cat? Not to mention having it rub off your pet onto your kids, furniture or yourself? There are safe alternatives, humans have been fighting fleas and ticks for centuries. Before chemicals there were plants that worked. Herbs and flowers that repel pests. Without all the neuro toxic effects of the chemical alternatives. These are things you can feel good about using, instead of watching your dog or cat for the long list of side effects listed on the chemical preventatives.

Come and talk to us, we are happy to help you plan an all natural prevention program this year.  We also have products you can read more about on our website:
Grateful Dog Bakery's Flea and Tick Prevention Products 

Bone Broth is new in store!

Bone Broth has been around for centuries.

People would simmer bones for days, making a thick, jelly like broth that tasted great. This broth was used for arthritis, digestive problems and dry skin and rashes. I am not sure how people figured it out back then, but science backs up the claims for joint and digestive health as well as healthy skin and hair. Bone broth is not just for people, your dog or cat can also benefit. Here is how it works.

Healthy joints depend on healthy collagen in ligaments, tendons and bone ends. Collagens are a large family of bio molecules including the glucosaminoglycans, one of which is glucosamine. Most people are familiar with joint supplements containing glucosamine, chondroiten and hyaluronic acid. Bone Broth is a "whole food" source of these compounds, which results in better absorption and utilization. Why is "whole food" important? It's the difference between taking a Vitamin C tablet and eating an orange. You get the Vitamin C either way, but your body gets nutrition from the orange as well.

We live in a toxic world, with chemicals in the air and water that have to be detoxified by the liver. The liver's ability to detoxify is dependent on the supply of the amino acid glycine. Bone broth is loaded with glycine, enabling your pet's liver to deal with the toxins that are part of daily life.

The immune and digestive system are dependent on a healthy gut. In a normal intestine, millions of tiny holes allow the passage of digested nutrients. Stress, poor diet or an overgrowth of bacteria can cause these openings to get larger. This allows the passage of undigested food, toxins and yeast. This stimulates the immune system to treat these substances as foreign invaders. This is how allergies and food sensitivities develop. Bone Broth contains large amounts of gelatin that help plug these holes, promoting an intact intestinal lining.

Bone Broth is great for a sick dog or cat, too. 

Anytime your vet suggests a boiled chicken and rice

diet, Bone Broth would be a great addition. It tastes good, tempting your pet to eat more. It has a high moisture content, helping hydrate your dog or cat. It is a great source of minerals, and the gelatin can help reduce the body's need for protein from meat sources. Bone Broth is also a great source of glycine, this aides digestion by helping regulate the synthesis of bile salts and the secretion of gastric acid.

I have been making Bone Broth in small batches for the Baker dogs for years, and I think that's why our senior dogs have very few problems with arthritis. I am proud to announce I am now making Bone Broth for the Bakery. Our Good to the Bone Broth is available in beef, chicken and turkey; in half pint and pint jars. 

We are using green packaging, glass jars that are returned for deposit, sterilized and reused. Please come in and talk to us, we are happy to talk to you about how your dog or cat can benefit from Bone Broth.

Pictures with the Big Bun!