Lottery Laws Animal

Once again we are reminded that we need to carefully look at what we are feeding our pets, what ingredients our pet food contains, where these ingredients are coming from and whether pet food supplies are operating under strict standards of hygiene and vendor agreements.  To ensure the health and well being of your pet you should look for a pet food supplier who uses a manufacturing facility that is a USDA certified APHIS (Animal Plant Health Inspection Service) plant. APHIS certification allows the sale of a finished product to the International market, including the European market, which has extremely high standards on ingredient sources. Under APHIS certification, the plant and ingredient facilities are routinely inspected.

Why should you avoid serving your pet table scraps?  Well a dog’s digestive system does not like it. A dog’s digestive system is designed to recognize and digest each particular type of food. It then produces a form of bacteria which helps it break down and digest that food. If you change your dog’s food constantly by giving it snacks and bits and pieces from your plate, then the digestive system will not have the bacteria necessary for proper digestion and your dog will have runny and/or smelly movements.  If you feed your dog or your cat a superior quality food then you should not need to add bits and pieces from your plate.

Is there a need to change your dog’s diet? Here is a 9 point questionnaire modified from the original version published by John Fisher author of ThinkDog (2003):

1.      Does your dog’s food contain any corn, wheat, chemicals or preservatives?

Cereal and Grains such as corn, wheat and soy are often labeled under several other names. When they are grouped together they increase the protein allocation in the Guaranteed Analysis.  Yet cereals and grains contain allergens. Corn is #3 on the list of allergens affecting pets reported by pet owners and veterinarians. Chemical preservatives are used to maintain pet food for extended periods, chemicals that can cause cancer such as BHA and BHT known carcinogens

 

Does your dog have flatulence?

The food you are using may be difficult to digest

Are his or her stools inconsistent in quality, sometimes loose and sometimes firm?

This is a sign that food is undigested and is not absorbing water in the digestive process

Is the stool volume quite large and invariably quite smelly?

This is a direct result of undigested fermented food

Does your dog have allergic problems or regular allergic reactions to fleas, grass, corn or wheat?

If your dog’s body defense mechanism is constantly in action fighting allergens in the food and if your dog also suffers from grass or other allergies, the extra attack breaks the camel’s back. Remove the food allergen and the body can cope better with the seasonal allergies.

Is your pet’s activity level unacceptable either way?

The nutritional balance of your dog’s food is a key factor not only to their health but also their energy levels. Too much protein can create hyperactivity. Energy calories also need to come from fats and complex carbohydrates.

Does your dog’s hair or skin look unhealthy or does your dog suffer from hair loss?

The protein in your dog’s diet may not be the right quality or is being used for energy. A vitamin and mineral deprivation will also have the same effect.

 

Is your dog always eating grass, shredding sticks or digging up roots in the garden?

This can indicate that your pet’s food is not being digested properly. It can also indicate a lack of minerals or that the digestive system needs more or a better quality fiber.

9.      Is your dog eating paper, tissues or toilet paper?

Searching out and destroying fiber bases products can indicate a digestion problem. It may indicate a need for a more effective dietary fiber.

So How Can You Choose a Quality Premium, Holistic Dog or Cat Food?

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”

-Hippocrates

 

-          Speak to somebody who understands pet  nutrition

-          Choose a  food product that uses human grade ingredients

-          Avoid preservatives and chemicals

-          Don’t just read the guaranteed analysis, understand the quality and source of each ingredient

-          Don’t avoid the premium foods because of initial cost, you save hundreds of dollars in veterinarian bills if your pet is healthy and your pet will most likely need less food because a quality product is more nutritionally dense.

-          Make sure the food has antioxidants, minerals and vitamins

-          Avoid corn and wheat – they are hard to digest and just a filler item.

-          The food should contain fruits and vegetables

-          Look for foods that contain Omega 3 Fatty Acids

 

To watch a video about what should be in, and what should be out of your pet food visit www.DogSmithPetCare.com.  Make an educational well informed decision about the pet food products you purchase. Remember veterinarians believe, with the correct nutrition, our pets could be living for years longer than the current national average and a side benefit will be less money spent on medical bills.

George Orwell’s Animal Farm may seem rather simple on the surface – the story of a Manor Farm’s animals taking over and kicking out their oppressive farmer – but it’s also an allegorical tale. Orwell is illustrating his own thoughts on Soviet Communism. After the revolution, the animals of the newly named Animal Farm set down some rules, The Seven Commandments.

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy;
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend;
3. No animal shall wear clothes;
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed;
5. No animal shall drink alcohol;
6. No animal shall kill any other animal;
7. All animals are equal.

Too soon, though, those rules begin to shift as the pigs set themselves up as leaders. Through mysterious disappearances, food shortages, increasing work hours and even rumors of murder, Animal Farm begins to take on a very frightening feel.

Fans of Orwell shouldn’t miss out on this classic tale. Although it is political in nature, readers intimidated by the complex nature of politics will find this novel enjoyable and easy to understand.

For me, what was the most frightening about the novel’s plot was how accepting the animals were of the changes and how quickly the farm went from a communist utopia to totalitarian dystopia. Although this novel has a fantasy feel to it (with the characters being animals), it also feels all-too-real. I could easily see this happening in a human society, as well.

After finishing the novel, I wanted to research politics, finding out where Orwell got his inspiration. As always with Orwell, once I finish one of his novels, I want to go on to another. My favorites of his work (besides this one) are 1984, A Clergyman’s Daugther and Keep the Aspidestras Flying.

Not many books frighten me, but this one certainly does. It’s easy to understand the animals’ feelings and motivations. It’s easy to see how they accept the tyrannical leadership of the pigs, and that’s scary.

George Orwell is known for his political and social commentary in his work. He often writes about class structure, controlling governments, and struggling within a system that works against the average person. His writing is excellent, and I suggest reading any of his books.

I recommend this book because it’s a quick, easy read, but it’s also extremely informative and thought-provoking. It’s easier to comprehend than the complex 1984 with just as strong a message. Everyone should read this book!

What do our children play with nowadays? Do our children learn anything from these toys?  Time to start shopping for the perfect gift. I looked up the top-10 selling items at Walmart the other day just to check it out.

Top 10 selling toys at Wal-Mart

1. Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition–Well, they’ll definitely learn the importance of money. The object of this game is to end up with all the money, property, and resources while everybody else goes home broke–whoops, by the end of the game, they don’t have a home to go to.

2. EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles–Not very educational, but harmless. The perfect gift for that budding little voyeur, burglar, snipper…

3. NERF N-STRIKE Vulcan – Kids love to shoot. In a world created to be the perfect landscape for NERF pandemonium, players can wreak havoc and perfect their blasting skills or challenge friends to clashes with both single and multi-player game modes. With the brand new custom NERF blaster, players can then take the action outside as their controller transforms to fire actual NERF darts.”

4. Baby Alive Learns to Potty (Hasbro)– The most useful learning toy so far. Enough guy stuff; how about something for our little princesses?

5. Fisher Price Kid Tough Portable DVD Player Pink and Accessory Kit—

6. Vtech V.Motion Active Learning System –

7. Fisher-Price Elmo Live– The worse toy ever!  This Muppet been showing signs of severe emotional stress for years; he’s made specific and general death threats on at least two separate occasions.

8. Littlest Pet Shop VIP Cat (Hasbro)–Cute, but why not a real flesh and blood feline?

9. Darth Maul with Collector Coin: Star Wars Saga Legends– I guess you could consider this a science toy . Can a kid ever own enough psychopathic killer dolls? And a Collector Coin, to boot!

10. Star Wars The Clone Wars Action Figures-See # 9. BTW, every single one these toys are manufactured in China; only the board pieces on the Monopoly game are made in the USA.