You Are What You Eat

If you follow our Paw Pals Boutique Facebook page you know that we re-post articles about recalls and other important information about pet food.

I was really upset when I read the one about dog food companies that use dyes to make kibble look better to humans and smell better to dogs. They think that kibble is boring looking to humans so they add colors to make it prettier.

I like pretty colors. We use pretty colored ribbons to make our gift baskets look extra special but I don’t think dying kibbles green and orange to make them seem like peas and carrots is a good thing to do. Science people say that Red 40, Yellow 5 and Blue 2 are dyes that cause cancer. That is BAD.

And where is the meat? Dogs like meat and meat is actually good for dogs. Lots of dog food today is “plant based” or made with “meat by products”. Plant based means stuff like corn and meat by products could dead zoo animals, hooves or other not so good stuff. That’s cheating!

Mom is a label reader. She reads labels on packages. She does it to make sure that the food she buys for our house, for the peoples and for the dogs, has lots of good, nutritious things in them, AND, just as important, does not have any bad things, like dyes in them.

Peoples who sell pet food want to sell more so they try to make their food look better than other kinds you can buy. They use words like “gourmet’ and “natural” which are just words and don’t mean that the food is so special.

One word you can look for is AAFCO. That is actually a bunch of words which are Association of American Feed Control Officials. They have “official” in their name but they are not government peoples. They look at how the food is made and say if it meets basic nutritional requirements. Check your food to see if it says AAFCO.

Keeping our food fresh is also important. We buy a big bag of food that DixieLee and I share and a small bag of food just for me. Mom says I gain weight when I eat too much regular food so I have half of my food be a “weight control” kind. We eat up a bag pretty quick but if you don’t, you should make sure the bag is sealed up tight so your food doesn’t get stale.

All this talk about food is making me hungry. I know Dad is going to tell me I have a big minute until supper but you never know….

Bone appetite,

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion. For the bestest pet gift baskets in the universe, check out pawpalsboutique.com

Five Second Rule Challenged

My sister DixieLee and I love to watch Mom and Dad eat.  Although it hasn't happened yet, there is always the chance that some of their yummy food will fall on the floor and we will get to eat it.

We all know that there are human foods that are very, very bad for dogs.  Foods like chocolate, grapes and raisins, onion, garlic and leeks, candy and baked goods with sugar and the sugar free ones with artificial sweeteners and cooked bones.  Some of these foods are so bad that they can make a dog be died!

What we don't hear about so often are the human foods that are good for dogs.

I was talking with my friend Beauregard and he said his Mom feeds him a raw diet made up of totally human foods.  Boy is he a lucky dog!

Our Mom is a horrible cook but there are some human foods we get that are super good for us.   Here are some of our favorites:

1.  Peanut butter.  Mom hides pills in peanut butter.  We know she is doing it but the peanut butter is so good, we don't care.  You have to be careful which peanut butter you buy.   It should be unsalted and have no xylitol in it cuz salt and artificial sweeteners are bad for dogs.

2,  Carrots.  Carrots are our favorite snack.   We like carrots even better than cookies.  Mom likes us to have them cuz they have vitamins and the crunchiness is good for our teeth.  We like them because they are sweet.

3.  Broccoli.  Dad doesn't like many veggies but he loves broccoli which is alright with us cuz he give us a taste some times.  Not too often though cuz it can make our tummies irritated.

4.  Yogurt.  Yogurt is another food that Mom can hide pills in.  Dogs that are 'lergic to dairy shouldn't eat yogurt and no dogs should eat yogurt that has sugar or any artificial sweeteners.

5.  Sweet Potatoes.  This is Mom's very favorite food.  Some people consider it a “super food” which means they have lots good stuff in them.  We like them because, like carrots, they satisfy our sweet tooths.

I could tell you about others but just writing about all these good foods is making me hungry.  I think I'll wander in the kitchen to see if anything is in danger of falling on the floor.

Bone appetite,

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S. We use only made in USA treats in all of our pet gift baskets. You can check out our whole line at PawPalsBoutique,com

Confessions of a Cookie Monster

I confess.  I love cookies.  I love carrots, potato chips, Triscuits, -…. who am I kidding, I love food. Dog food, human food, I’d even eat bird food if I could just reach the feeder.  You can’t open the refrigerator or pantry door in our house without my help.  Mom had to put a baby lock on the cabinet where we keep the kibble because I figured out how to open it.

My excuse… I’m part lab and labs love to eat.  I never really got to eat much human food cuz Mom said I needed to eat nutritious and well balanced food.  She only buys “the good stuff” for me and DixieLee.  She reads the labels to make sure the ingredients haven’t change and we are getting food, not fillers.

So you can see why I was shocked when I had my physical this summer and the vet man said I was FAT!  Well, he said it nicer than that but he made it clear that I needed to drop a few pounds.  I wrote about that horrific experience in my August blog.  We told him we only eat good food and only what the package says.  He told us that dog food sellers are in the business of selling dog food so the more we eat the more we have to buy.  Light bulb!  He said we should cut my portions in half.

OMG!!! I thought I was going to die.   I was hungry all the time as it was I was surly going to starve to death now.  Fast forward six month…. I have managed to lose 13 pounds!  I look marvelous if I do say so myself.   What’s even better than that is that I feel marvelous.  I didn’t realize it but when I was heavier, I didn’t like to play so much.  Running wasn’t fun.  DixieLee would run up and down the stairs or around our pen all day long.  I would rather have stayed on the deck and watched.  Now she’s in big trouble cuz I can run just as fast as her and I win lots of our fighting games.

How did I do it?  It wasn’t easy.  I found out that cutting my portions in half wasn’t so bad.  I still got treats but we got more slices of carrots and sweet potatoes and fewer cookies.  We also started eating coconut oil and boy, is that delicious!  We had to be careful because coconut oil is fat but it’s one of those super foods packed with all kinds of good for you stuff.

As much as I hate to admit it, losing weight was a really good thing to do.  Like Mom says, it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle choice.  We choose to eat healthy and I hope you do too.

Your healthy friend,

Zeva

P.S.  Shameless self promotion.  How would you like to win a free gift basket?  All you have to do is go to our Facebook page and register.  Contest ends on March 20, 2015 so don’t wait.

 

Be A Picky Eater

It seems like every day there is another recall of pet food or treats but did you know that it is okay to sell pet food with stuff in it that is not all that good for you.  My friend Eric, The Amazing Dog Training Man, showed me what to look for and what to look out for when choosing food.

Here are the ingredients on two different bags of dry dog food.  Which one would you choose?

Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, propylene glycol, meat and bone meal, tricalcium phosphate, phosphoric acid, salt, water, animal digest, sorbic acid (a preservative), potassium chloride, dried carrots, dried peas, calcium propionate (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, added color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine.

Or:

Whitefish, Herring Meal, Salmon Meal, Menhaden Fish Meal, Peas, Potatoes, Canola oil (preserved with Mixed Tocapherols) Pea fiber, Tomato Pomace, Natural Fish Flavor, Ground Flaxseed, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, Broccoli, Spinach, Parsley, Apples, Blueberries,

Vitamins (E supplement, Beta Carotene, Nicacin, d-Calcium. Pantothenate, A supplement, Riboflavin, D3 supplement Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrae, Ascorbic Acid, Biotin, Folic Acid)

Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfte, Iron Proteinate, Ferrou Sulfate, copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Maganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate)

Choline Cloride, Mixed Tocopherols added to preserve freshness, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Taurine, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation product, Rosemary extract.

I know, the second one has lots of weird sounding stuff in it, but the weird stuff is mostly vitamins, minerals and probiotics which are good for you.  The second one also has many more good for you foods like different fish and lots of veggies.  Corn, rice, soy, sugar and animal by-products will fill you up but they aren’t all that nutritious.  Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and Blue 2 are actually pretty bad for you.

I think the best food to eat is raw but making raw food takes time and you need to make sure you are getting the right mix of good for you stuff.  Me, I’d love a whole chicken (raw) or a nice chunk of beef (raw) with a side of mashed sweet potato and carrots.  And for desert, I would love a big Frosty Paws!

Now I’ve done, it.  I am starving.  Think Dixie and I will see if Mom will give us a cookie.

Bone Appetite,

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant Self-promotion. My Own Cookie Tin Gift Basket.

Tricks for Treats

Hi Everyone,
Who likes treats?  I do for sure.  They say if you do something you love, you never have to work a day in your life.  Well, I have the perfect job.  I am the Product Tester at www.laurelmtbasket.com I get to test all of the treats that go into our Pet Gift Baskets. Of all the product I get to test, I like testing cookies the best.
Recently we got a package of treats from Healthy Dogma(www.healthydogma.com) in Michigan.  Because I am such a good product tester they asked me if I would try them and give my opinion.  OMG!   They make the yummiest cookies ever!  I got to test the nutty apple barkers.  Peanuts and apples together! An amazing combination that is so delicious.  Of course they have other good stuff in them like whole grain oats, olive oil and other stuff mom cares about.  But they don't have any wheat, corn or soy which is stuff mom doesn't like to have in my food.
It says right on the package that they are "For good dogs only" which isn't a problem for me.
I also got to test their amazing apple crisps.  Amazing is part of the name and boy, did they name these treats right.  Does your mom bake?  You know that nice smell when she bakes an apple pie?  Well, these treats taste just like that.  The amazing apple crisps are great for all dogs but they could be especially good for those of us who are watching our girlish figures.   They are low calorie and have dietary fiber in them which is all good.  They also have antioxidants and vitamin C.  I don't know where they hide all that good stuff because all the ingredients say is apples and cinnamon.
Healthy Dogma has lots of other great treats I am going to ask my to get for me.    I'm thinking the blissful banana crisps will be pretty good.  I wonder if they taste like banana cream pie.  And there are a bunch of barkers that sound yummy too.
All this talk of treats is making me hungry.  I'll have to go see if there are any nutty apple barkers left.
Be a good dog and maybe your humans will get you some Healthy Dogma treats too.
Your friend,
Zeva

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What's In Your Bowl?

You've heard about the chicken jerky snacks coming in from China that are making dogs sick and evening making some die.   Boy, that's scary. I understand that every once in awhile an alert goes out and some dog foods are taken away because they have bad chemicals in them.
I have been eating Wellness brand food since I was a baby and I like it well enough.  I would prefer people food or dog cookies but I don't get a vote.   Mom thinks I'm getting a little chunky.  I am so insulted that she thinks I have a fat butt!   Anyway, since SHE thinks I am putting on weight, she  put me on Wellness Core grain free.
 How can anything that tastes this good be good for you?  I LOVE IT!  It tastes like our kitchen smells on Sundays when the humans roast chickens and other good stuff for their dinner.  Breakfast at the Studio or dinner at home, as soon as my dish is full, I'm all over it.
Mom likes it because it's grain free and has good stuff in it like deboned turkey and chicken meal and some other great stuff like sweet potato and my favorite vegetable, broccoli.  There's also some antioxidants, phylonutrients and Omega 6 & 3.  I'm not sure what an antioxidant looks like but it sure is good tasting.
Mom says raw or home cooked is best but since she is not a great cook and does have lots of other things to do to make us have a happy life, we try to feed me the best we can.
If you eat dry food, what brand do you get?   I'm always looking for tasty, high quality food just in case I get to be a finicky eater.
Chow down!
Your friend,
Zeva