This post brought to you by homemadedogfood.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

(At left, photo via homemadedogfood.com)

With the wheat gluten scare that happened a few years ago, plus the growing awareness of BPA used in some dog food cans, the idea of Homemade dog food has surfaced more than once at the HoundsGood household. The train was rerailed with a dear doggie I know had a bout of pancreatitis after switching to a home cooked diet.

The most important thing to remember that home cooked doesn't mean table scraps. While the pup's mom was extremely vigilant and thorough on preparing meals, it is difficult to "wing it" and offer complete nutrition if a dog has sensitivities. And its a lot of work.

Recently, I stumbled across a blog dedicated to homemade dog food which presents Easy cooked dog food recipes. The "easy" rated recipe is a simple combination of beef, eggs and white rice. What makes the meal more complete for dogs, according to the site is the supplementation of Dino Vite liquid that contains digestive enzymes and minerals, and an Omega fatty acid supplement. You can find the recipe HERE. There is even a portion chart for different sizes of dogs.

There is a very emotional debate among dog owners on a raw vs dog food diet, and the site gives options of both raw and cooked meals.

The question is: Is any diet truly complete if we have to supplement a healthy young dog, aside from situations where there is a temporary illness or genetic condition?

As with any change, please do not switch your dog to a home cooked diet cold turkey. The author recommends fasting before the switch. Traditionally, many experts advise mixing the old and new foods to gradually switch to prevent stomach upset. Also, consult a dog nutritonist and your vet if your dog has a medical condition. The protein content may not be appropriate for dogs with certain sensitivities or conditions, such as kidney issues.

In this case, the shipping charge might be closer to legitimate with the rising prices of postage and the shipping weight of 32 ounces of liquid in a bottle. The liquid equates to about 2 lbs, plus the weight of the packing materials and the bottle itself. That part of it isn’t prickly.

The juice isn’t touted as being a cure of any sort specifically, but there is a chain of reasoning that because it contains betalains, which reduce inflammation and toxicity, and inflammation can cause illness, then the juice must improve overall health and wellness dramatically?

Betalains can also be found in:

• Spinach
• Rhubarb
• Beets
• Quinoa
• Other Cactus Fruits

In other words, this juice isn’t your only and last chance to take advantage of a certain level of nutrition, and in fact, eating these other foods regularly can give you a larger amount and greater nutrition.

If you are not allergic to secondary ingredients, a fruit or vegetables based fruit or juice is worthy of a try, but keep in mind, overall health and diet is the most important. There is no magic bullet. No one food, even oranges for Vitamin C or Tomatoes for Lycopene are going to protect you against aging or disease. It takes a balanced diet full of variety and balance.

The dogs and cats…especially the dogs…at Clayton County Animal Control in Jonesboro, Georgia, need your help. Many pets at many pets need your help. Euthanasia happens at least twice a week, but this past week, a third day was added. 54 dogs were on the list. An offsite vet comes to euthanize and if they are there and an owner turn in dog comes in, that dog doesn’t get any time. There is no “three day hold” for them when the shelter is filled to the brim. Dogs just keep coming in.

However, the bright light is that the volunteers that help this shelter are extremely organized and have a system. If you are a member of a rescue and make intake decisions and can take even just one beautiful dog, please contact jm doro (at) earthlink.net.  They have a Facebook page called Partners with Clayton County Animal Control. There is a folder called ANIMALS IN NEED OF RESCUE/ADOPTION that the volunteers do their best to keep up to date. This week, there was a Great Pyrenese, many purebred Chihuahuas as well as beautiful “Pure Bred Georgia Brown Dogs.” So, please visit the shelter if you are local to adopt or if you are a decision maker at a breed or all-breed rescue, the volunteers are there to help you help them. They are standing by now and waiting for your offer of fostering a dog for a few days or weeks, accepting a dog into your rescue or if you see a dog and know that they are “the one.”

If you are short on cash and want to donate something meaningful to a group, sometimes you can stretch your donation in one of several ways if you purchase items.

1) Join the loyalty program at the supermarket for pantry donations and at pet stores. They are worth a few cents or a few dollars off promoted merchandise. This seems automatic when you are have pets, but if you don’t but like to lend a hand, it is worth having. This also goes for toy stores if you regularly purchase for children’s charities or Toys for Tots.

2) Use coupon codes online. Dog food can be expensive to buy on the net with shipping costs, but there are free shipping offers, discounts for bulk purchases and offers for buying in multiples. I once found Purina coupon codes for items that a shelter was asking for. They preferred the brand because it was easy for people to donate as it was so widely available, and because a store once donated a quantity to them and they wanted to continue. I never thought of buying it online, but the deals made sense.

3) Buy seasonally. Some charities cannot store items for a length of time, but if you can set aside a bin for donation, hold onto frequently requested items to donate later. Buy basic office supplies, such as paper and pens at Back to School time. Sometimes the stores announce when they will issue their deepest discounts. After Christmas, purchase elf collars for pictures with Santa or wrapping paper for the next wrapping booth if your local group wraps presents at the mall for donations.

4) Ask your charity about upcoming events. Usually, a group is planning an event a six weeks to a full year before it is announced to the public. If you know a group is having a Dog Walk in 8 months or a charity auction in 6 months, you can be on the hunt for bargains for specifically needed items.

Remember to ask for a receipt twice. Make sure you print out your receipt when buying online or ask for one at the register. It is helpful to keep it for when the charity issues you a donation receipt for your taxes, you will have a record of the purchase amount.

Of course, you can always gather up gently used items, but in some cases something brand new is called for. How have you cut corners without cutting corners?

One of the latest questions is if the antioxidant juices people drink can be good for pets, even as a last resort. One question in particular is if Nopalea, which is made from the juice of the Nopal cactus, can be also used for canines and felines who are suffering from inflammation. Firstly, the Nopal cactus comes from the Opuntia family, more properly, Opuntia Ficus Indica. The Opuntia is a tree cactus. According to the ASPCA, Opuntia is nontoxic to dogs and cats. If a pet accidentally eats a small piece of the plant, the results might be prickly, but there will be no poisoning.

Although the plant itself does not pose a high toxicity risk, the juice itself is not formulated for pets. Cactus juice, which as a slight laxative effect, is not sold in its pure form. To be palatable, Nopalea juice includes other ingredients as well as supportive antioxidants. The other ingredients, and not the cactus juice, makes it potentially highly toxic to dogs. The following is the list of Nopalea ingredients. Outlined in bold are ingredients helpful to humans but toxic, or possibly toxic to dogs and cats.

Proprietary blend of Water (filtered), Opuntia concentrate (nopal concentrate), Agave Nectar, Grape Seed extract (vitis vinifera), Raspberry extract (rubus idaeus), Strawberry extract (fragaria chiloensis), Cranberry extract (vaccinium macrocarpon), Apple extract (malus domestica), Apricot extract (prunus armeniaca), Mango extract (mangifera indica) fruit, Orange concentrate (citrus aurantium) juice, Papaya concentrate (carica papaya fruit with papain), Tomato concentrate (lycopersicon esculentum) fruit, Kiwi concentrate (actinidia chinensis), Guava (psidium guajava powder), Lemon concentrate (citrus lionum juice), Opuntia concentrate (nopal concentrate) powder, Peach concentrate (prunus persica) juice, Pomegranate extract (punica granatum with ellagic acid and punocaligans), Green Tea extract (camellia sinensis), Beet (beta vulgaris) juice, Bilberry concentrate (vaccinium myrtillus), Acerola cherry extract (malphigia glabra), Amylase, Cellulase, Hemicellulase, Proteases [bromelain from pineapple (ananas comosus) and papain (carica papaya) from papaya, lipase, phytase], Stevia extract (stevia rebaudiana) leaf, Guar gum, Maltodextrin, Natural flavor, Cherry powder, Xanthum gum.

• Stevia can be upsetting to the stomach or even fatal to dogs.
• Grapes are known toxins, which can cause hypercalcima, anorexia, lethargy and kidney damage.
• Parts of the prunis family, such as the leaves, stems and pits are toxic. The prunis family includes apricots, peaches and cherries. The actual fruit is not toxic, but in the blending process, other pieces of the fruit could potentially intermix.
• Healthy dogs produce their own Vitamin C. The jury is out on whether C supplementation is harmful or helpful, or may only be helpful in severely ill animals.

Before giving your pet a “home remedy,” note that their systems are not completely like ours. Read the ingredients very carefully. Not all products that do you good will do your dog or cat good, even if they are “natural.” Enjoy a glass for you, but don’t be tempted to give Mittens or Duke a sip.

The rate works out to around £20, but you can hire a tutor for a shorter length of time by the minute. Either you can search for a tutor, or post a question in Q&A about what you are looking for and receive responses from tutors that match your subject. Rifling around, I found folks asking about human resources exams, compounding interest and classical design. You are sure to find something today…or at 3:00 am.

I walked into my neighborhood sandwich shop and there was a lost dog alert posted on the bulletin board. It was not a handmade sign, but rather a formatted print out with the dog’s photo, microchip number, description and contact info on it. It was a Pet Amber Alert that had been faxed to all the businesses in the downtown district.

What is a Pet Amber Alert? The “America’s Missing: Broadcasting Emergency Response” code was named for missing child Amber Hagerman. Like a human Amber Alert, a Pet Ambert Alert sends the word out far and wide when a pet is lost. While your pet may not make it to the radio airwaves, the service does contact local shelters and rescues, and faxes alerts to local businesses to widen the net and possibility of your pet being recovered. A phone alert reaches local neighbors and businesses, too. The pets hit social media outlets,too.

There are other plans that include just phone alerts or just poster alerts.  For $49.95-99.95, the service can cover more ground than you can in a matter of minutes or an hour or two before the pet leaves the area. A pet detective also works with a database sifting through leads as well for you.

In the past, I wouldn’t have considered a service, but after having now experienced how the service really works in my community and having found numerous “lost” dogs, it would have cut down on the time between when I found the dog and found the owners. In the case of one dog, I never did find the owners after very diligent searches. If my dog was lost, I know that I couldn’t possibly cover the ground quite as quickly. You never know if its best to drive through the neighborhood calling your dog and looking or to wait at home hoping they are on their way.

In my experience, for every story about a dog or cat that traveled across the country, there are anecdotally 100 more that were near home after all, either picked up by someone on the next block and adopted as someone’s own without first looking for the family, a dog or cat becoming trapped in a lot close to the house and unable to break free or neighbors seeing a dog or cat roaming, but not thinking anything of it. It’s great news for Chicago, Los Angeles, West Central Frogstump and philadelphia lost dogs and cats…or really pets from anywhere.

Would you consider a service like Pet Amber Alert if your beloved family member was missing?

The formulation for the United Kingdom for cats includes a 10% concentration of the active ingredient firponil, which is a synthetic insecticide which kills adult fleas during the effective period. The version available in the USA has a 9.8% concentration. Virtually, it is close enough to be the same.

In my travels, I have found flea and tick preventative in wider use for dogs than for cats. It is equally if not more important to treat cats for fleas, especially if you have a cat that travels outdoors. Even the feral cat that you have been feeding could benefit in order to protect him or her from diseases carried by fleas and ticks.

In the United Kingdom, ThePetMedicineCompany.co.uk is an online retailer that services chiefly mainland addresses throughout the United Kingdom. Whether you live in the UK, or you wish to send flea and tick preventative to an animal charity in the UK, you may want to visit their site for details on payment and shipping.

More and more, I am going back to wearing a watch. After my cell phone conked out and my clock on my car was naturally not set since the last time the battery was replaced, I was a little lost. Did I have time to stop and charge my phone somewhere or not? I made it to my appointment in time and charged it there.

I recommend including a traditional time piece in your emergency kit. It’s best to wear it, but having it in your glove box or wildlife rescue emergency kit, or even your emergency kit for car emergencies is so important. It is not only important to have an idea what time it is, but to measure time if you are checking a puluse.

Some watches are up to the task of dog slobber and extracting exuberant Labradors from decorative fountains and some are not. I was not aware of what all of the

Bulova Precisionist Watches are rated for water resistence up to 30 meters and my vintage Timex, well…who knows.

Here is the low down:

• If a watch is rated for 30 meters, you can be caught in the rain, get your wrist slobbered on by a dog, but you can’t dive with it or swim with it.
• If the watch is rated for 50 meters, you could swim with it on. Stay away from deep sea diving and snorkeling The watch will not hold up to the change in pressure for deep sea diving, nor the consistent immersion.
• If you really want to do any diving, select a rating of 100 meters or greater, with only ratings of 300 meters or greater suitable if you are using a scuba tank.

The bottom line? Save any watch with no rating for the night out. If you are looking for a good all around watch for working with animals, choose a water resistant model for the occasional water trough spill.

So…have you gone retro?

Normally, I would not have pressed my luck, but I was emboldened by a wonderful leaflet that had lists and lists of things you could send away for, either for free or for the cost of postage or an SASE.

The little catalogs have all but disappeared, replaced by sites like ReallyFreeSamples.com and the like. Even though the internet is crowded with free free books online and free downloads, getting them does not feel like the personal victory my first coloring book did. Granted, you can get online freebies by mail where you will await a sample trial of toothpaste or a pocket schedule from your favorite team, but clicking a button doesn’t seem as much “give to get” work as actually writing in for something and waiting for your Little Orphan Annie Decoder Ring like Ralphie did.

What have you found lately for yourself or your pet that was absolutely free?

This post brought to you by Whitney Farms. All opinions are 100% mine.

Last week, I bought the last roll of deer fence needed to this year's garden. (At left: One of the two survivors from last year. This onion celebrates its first birthday. Grandpa Onion turns four!) The manure has been tilled in and a few starter plants will go in between Mother's Day and Memorial Day, though Memorial Day is the big start of the growing season for both seeds and starters. The garden is completely planted in organic soil, and inexpensively organic. The garden is hand weeded as soon as the desirable plants are planted. It takes time, but is safer for pets and builds character.

Getting the right balance of nutrients has been an experiment. It has been largely left alone, save for the methods of adding manure in the late fall or early spring and tilling in some of the old stalks. The corn and pumpkins are also flip flopped every year. On occasion, one end of the garden that is full of clay needs a little help. There is organic plant food out there, but it can be either pricey, or sometimes brands are small and you can't find the same everywhere.

There is a $3 coupon available to try Whitney Farms® Plant Food or Tomato and Vegetable Food available.

The product is available at many popular retailers, so you won't have to go digging at an obscure out of the way farmer's market. It contains beneficial microbes as well as protein material that will not harm pets that might did in the garden. Potassium nitrate can be lab generated, but Potash is mined and is naturally and necessary to vegetables and other plants. Just as a warning and don't be surprised that it contains not just Potash, which is potassium, but bone meal and feather meal. When you think about it, that is exactly what is breaking down and offsetting the acid that is put in the soil by rotting leaves as found in nature.

What are you growing this season for the health of your family and pets? If you are opposed to adding protein meal to fertilize your vegetables, what have you been using?

Saving Shelter Pets, Inc., is holding its Spring auction online.

Donatons are currently being sought to auction off in this event. If you are an artist, collector, business owner, or just an individual with something to donate…. send an email at info (at) savingshelterpets.com with your contact information, and a description of the item you would like to donate. You may submit a clear, quality photo and ship the item at the conclusion of the auction to the winning bidder, or, if you prefer, mail the item to an SSP volunteer who will ship the item. Deadline to submit items is NOW, so if you are interested in contributing, make like a duck and…nevermind. Tell em you head about it on HoundsGood! For bidders, the auctions starts April 23rd.

The spring 2011 auction raised $1242.00 after fees. Let’s dust off our shelves, dig through our china cabinets and our wallets to make this one even better…can we go for $1500?

Examples of Popular Items of the Past:
Gift Certificates to your business or popular retailers
Dog/Cat toy and supply gift basket
Autographed books
Collectibles
Handmade jewelry, handbags, accessory
Christmas Decor – Keepsake Ornaments and Tree toppers
Hotel gift certificates and getaways
Art work
DVDs
….Whatever your imagination inspires.

Please spread the word so we can make this auction a huge success for all the dogs & cats helped! Saving Shelter Pets, Inc., a 501(3)c charitable organization, has several wonderful programs including Spay & Neuter, Puppy Promises (puppies are intercepted from ever entering a shelter environment), Bernie’s Buddies (help for heartworm positive shelter dogs), TNR programs for feral cats, Rescue & Transport and more!

This auction will benefit the Puppy Promises Program. To fight the overpopulation problem at the shelters they work with, the Puppy Promises program intercepts pups before they enter a shelter environment, where they often contract Parvo and pass away or sometimes are euthanized for space. If the owner who is dumping the pups agrees to take them home for another 14 days, SSP vaccinates them and at the end of the quarantine period, places them in rescue. In addition, the mother of the pups as well as the other adult dogs and cats are spayed or neutered at SSP’s expense to prevent additional unwanted litters. A family’s pet number remains manageable, making the chances of them abandoning their adult pets much more slim. The now-neutered adult pets are also less likely to wander from home, reducing pet losses due to traffic accidents, poisoning, wildlife injuries and more accidental litters.

Click the banner to travel to the SSP site, or click HERE to read previous stories from this blog on SSP.

About Saving Shelter Pets:
Saving Shelter Pets (SSP) strives to eliminate euthanasia as a method of population control for homeless companion animals, by providing no-kill alternative solutions and pro-actively addressing the problem of pet overpopulation.

SSP is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization with supporters nationwide. Please see our FAQs for more information.

“I know this might be disturbing,” the receptionist said, “But it seems to be an effective way to warn people. People don’t always read signs, but bugs make them jump.” The Ziplock had the little creepy crawly well contained with plenty of air. Even so, a tick “in captivity” is just not endearing in any way. In fact, there was a duo. One bag was at each end of the counter just to ensure no one missed the point.

If you are worried about your dog or cat right now, you at least have some control keeping them in the house and out of the woods – in a perfect world.

When a dog or cat is in the shelter, they are a sitting target for everything that came in on everyone else that walks through the door. If you have an extra few spare dollars and didn’t want to write a check, you can find deals at petsmart right now on some preventatives online. If you give to a licensed non profit, you can actually write the donation off as well. (Disclaimer: I am not an accountant, but “in kind” merchandise donations often qualify.)

Sentry spray for your home, at upper right, is $15.99, down from $19.99. It has natural ingredients, such as peppermint oil if you prefer a more natural approach. If you prefer Frontline, the feline variety is $20.00 off – $84.99 versus $104.99 for a 6 pack. It can be divided up to protect 6 shelter cats for 30 days. If the flea and tick population is at bay in the shelter, the more positive the experience for a potential adopter coming to view the animals. Reaction to flea allergies and also tick diseases can be uncomfortable and even deadly.

Don’t let the cool damp air at night fool you. They’re BAAAAAAAAACKKKK

With a tummy full of butterflies, there was a big move in my family’s future. It has been many years since our little family had to move from one region of the US to another and we met the opportunity with excitement and enthusiasm. Our home search in New York turned out to be such a pleasant experience and we found an apartment for our family within a month.

I was beyond excited when I walked into my future kitchen and saw the gorgeous upgraded appliances any chef could ever dream of just waiting to be used. This was going to be the perfect test kitchen while I was in culinary school here in the big city.

In preparation for the move, I checked out energy suppliers to get rates for the new apartment and we were packed up and hitting the road before I knew it! Our move was complete within eight weeks and we were settled in just in time for orientation of one of the best culinary schools in the nation. My life could not be better!

Granted, a pet can damage a floor but there are ways to keep both pets and the floor.

Selection: Choose a hardwood that is at least 3/4″ thick. The reason is that it will stand up to many sandings and refinishings if needed. Of course, you want to avoid refinishing the floor often, but choose with an eye towards longevity. A hardwood floor is not something that changes with the fickle changes in fashion, so care is important.

Cleaning Stains: To clean a stain, do not use ammonia based cleaners sometimes used for stubborn pet stains. Feces stains are easy to clean by picking the debris up with a tissue and following with soap and water on a cloth. Urine stains must be addressed as immediately as possible with water and vinegar.

Water and urine may cause a laminate flooring to warp or swell. With hardwood, the individual board may darken with repeated soilings or if the stain is not addressed in time. Individual boards can be replaced as needed rather than refinishing the entire floor.

High Traffic Areas: Consider an area rug, a runner or a throw rug for hallways and thresholds between rooms. If hardwood is near the entry where pets come in from outdoors, avoid excited dogs from slipping and sliding around the corners with a rug. When placing the piece, use a rug pad that has some grip to it. The rug won’t fly away like a magic carpet when dogs run around the corner.

Separation: Crate pets or restrict them to an area of the house when you are out, especially when the floor is new. It prevents injury to pets roaming the home in general as well as protects the floor. Of course, a living companion is more important than the floor, but most accidents occur when pets are left unattended, aside from situations that involve illness or chronic incontinence. It also removes the temptation to bless a new and interesting smelling item with their scent.

The upside of almost unsultingly low CD and savings rate is that loan rates are very low, so you can afford to make that long term investment of a home you have been saving for, or if you are a nonprofit, its a great time to purchase the land you have been needing to build your shelter or your ball field. Donated land is the ultimate, but it doesn’t always happen and sometimes the land is not correctly zone for intended usage.

The other “good debt” loan is of course buying a car. A friend if mine recently bought a car and was dazzled by the 0% interest rate. Actually, the 0% is not really 0%. If you read closely, the dealer will charge you one price and not charge you any interest, or offer you a $2,500 rebate for paying cash – your choice. So, really, you are actually paying the interest in a different way. The most important thing to consider is the bottom line number – the number you will ultimately pay in the end, rather tha the monthly payment.

If you do finance the car and don’t have perfect credit, you will have to pay some interest, though you DO pay interest when you pay 0% interest, as mentioned about. There is a sunrise finance auto loan calculator that you can use on the Sunrisefinance.com site that breaks it down when you plug in your numbers. You can try it free hand, but it takes awhile.

Interest rates are bound to go up again some day – but we really can’t have it both ways – low loan rates and high savings rates. It just doesn’t work. The best thing to do is to save for a rainy day, invest in things that will help us help others or have increased income in the future so that we may support our families and use other funds to make a difference.