|
 |
Here’s another Tale of Tails, Tino edition. A few weeks ago we talked about his sense of hearing and smell when he tracked us down in Big Bear. Today I have another story about his sense of hearing and I bet many of you can relate to this skill. We live in a gated community (believe me,... »
Unfortunately, the answer is yes, they can. The disorder, called Canine Cognitive Dysfunction (CCD) in dogs is very similar to the human Alzheimer’s disease. A recent study at the University of Sydney showed that by age 15, over 40% of dogs display at least some of these symptoms. Sympt... »
We wrote about our trip with Jack and Maggie we took to Big Bear a few weeks ago, but we have gone to Big Bear for years and all of our dogs have enjoyed it and had lots of adventures there. We typically get a cabin right on the lake so that the dogs can enjoy the beach and Steve can pretend ... »
Today we wrap up our “Fitness Tips I Learned from my Dogs” series. We have already written about having fun with fitness, the importance of variety when exercising, the value of proper rest, and eliminating excuses. Today’s tip is about learning to just go for it. I was in a Bikram Yoga class... »
What do you do when it gets hot? Crank up the air-conditioning if you’ve got it, right? Go for a swim, take a cool shower, go for a ride in the car with the windows down, eat ice cream. Lots of different things to do when it gets hot. How about your pets, what do they like to do when it... »
Dear Labby, Why would a dog who has been ‘potty trained’ pee in the house? Wondering Mama Dear Mama, It can happen, and it might be caused by several reasons: Your dog might be sick. If they have some type of bladder infection or intestinal disorder, th... »
Dear Labby, I’m afraid to admit this, but my dog has bad breath…really bad…don’t come near me bad. He eats pretty good food, what could be causing this problem? Awaiting your Answer with Baited Breath Dear Baited, There could potentially be many causes fo... »
We love infographics here at SlimDoggy. They are such a fun way to get across an important message or deliver facts in a fun manner. We’ve done several of our own infographics: SlimDoggy on Pet Obesity SlimDoggy Senior Fit Tips SlimDoggy Fit Tips #1 Tips for Keeping your DogFit #2 SlimDoggy Th... »
Moving on to the letter E in our A to Z Dog Food Ingredient series, today we discuss why Ethoxyquin is in dog food. What is Ethoxyquin? Ethoxyquin is a controversial and artificial ingredient that has been used in dog food for many years—it was approved as an additive to pet food in 1959. Eth... »
We had a great response to the first installment of our “benefits of running with your dog” series where we discussed the mental benefits of running. Thanks to everyone for the great comments and for sharing our post. I hope that some folks were motivated to get out and run around with their dog bec... »
Hello. My name is Steve and my dog’s name is Jack. We are run-a-holics. Pardon the humor, although there is a lot of truth to the above. The fact is that my dogs (all of them that I have ever had) and I love to run and for that matter, exercise intensely. The feeling that I get, and that I be... »
We started SlimDoggy about 18 months ago with the mission to raise awareness to the growing problem of pet obesity. The statistics on pet obesity are staggering. Over 53% of dogs and 57% of cats are overweight. We talk a lot about exercise and how it improves your dogs quality of life, and their lif... »
Increasing the life span of your dog is a topic we love to read about and write about. We firmly believe that being healthy and fit will help your dog live a longer and happier life. But how long should you expect your dog to live and what can you do to give them a longer life? There are life expect... »
Last week at BlogPaws, I was fortunate to meet the folks from HABRI, a research foundation whose mission is to study the benefits of the human-animal bond for pet and human health. HABRI stands for Human Animal Bond Research Initiative and their vision is to “demonstrate that pets and animals ... »
I was reading an article the other day about foxtails and the dangers they pose to our pets. We live in an area where there are a LOT of foxtails – on almost every trail we take Jack & Maggie they are growing wild alongside the trail. Once they start to dry, they can become very dangerous... »
I often get asked the question “is running bad for my knees?” or the similar, pet version, “Is running bad for my dog’s knees?” This is a hard question to answer specifically as all of our bodies and health and injury histories are unique. Yet, research supports the idea that if anything, running ca... »
Do you have senior dog? Helping them live a longer life is a priority. We’ve had five seniors in our life in recent years and have learned much about keeping them happy and healthy as long as we can. We share some tips in our eHow video. A Complete Guide to Helping Your Older Dog Live a... »
Thinking about getting a dog? Hopefully visiting a shelter or calling a rescue is your first idea. But once you’ve got the dog, what do you need to keep them fit, healthy, well-rested and well-fed? We offer some suggestions in another of our eHow video series. A List of Must-Need... »
Today we welcome Sydney, Australia based veterinarian, Eloise Bright as a guest writer for the letter ‘R’ for our A to Z post on, wait for it…of course, RUNNING! As you will soon find out, Eloise and SlimDoggy have a common point of view on the value of exercising regularly with yo... »
Do you know how much you spend on your pet’s food? Have you ever added it all up for a year? One of the biggest issues we have with pet owners is overfeeding. Overfeeding not only leads to obesity, but you are wasting money. We provide some tips for saving $$ on your pet food budget in our lat... »
Chances are if you have pets, you have heard of the OFA, the Orthopedic Foundation of America. I know ever since I had my first Lab back in 1980’s, I knew of the OFA and their certification process and I made sure that Maxine had her xrays and was cleared for hip dysplasia before we bred her. ... »
Today’s A to Z Challenge post for the letter “G” is on Gardening. Last month I posted some fun photos of Jack helping me ‘garden’ in our backyard. He wasn’t really gardening, he was digging for ground squirrels, but if I could harness that digging energy, I could ... »
Dear Labby, The other day a friend asked me a question about their dog and I thought it was a good question for Dear Labby. Here’s the situation, her dog will only eat treats, she won’t eat her regular food. What’s up with that? Friendly Flea Dear Flea, That is a good... »
Dear Labby, Each evening I sit with my dog Kylie and give her a massage – I run my hands up and down her legs and her feet and do a little back massage too. Sometimes she moans and groans and it’s almost a growl…is she telling me she wants me to stop, or does she like it? H... »
UPDATE: It appears I jumped the gun and reported the winner of Crufts before the full reporting had been loaded to the Crufts Results page. The Best of Breed winner was actually an Italian dog: IT CH/SH CH LOCH MOR ROMEO What started as an off-the-cuff comment about the overweight Labradors winning ... »
The picture of health. Thanks to our Blog Hop sponsors: Dachshund Nola and Sugar the Golden Retriever. »
A few weeks ago, we created a bit of a furor in the Labrador Retriever world when we wrote a post about the overweight Labradors who won Best of Breed and Best of Opposite Sex in the 2014 Westminster show. Our concern about the overweight appearance of these dogs is due to the health related problem... »
We are killing our dogs and paying tons of money to do so. Yes, you read that right. Are you willing to gamble with your pet’s longevity and health by allowing them to be overweight? Having an overweight dog is costly: To the dog’s lifespan: lean dogs will live on average almost two years lon... »
Last week we wrote a post that compared the US Labrador Retriever standard over the past 50-60 years. The change in the standard and the photographic evidence is quite dramatic – check our post if you didn’t see it. Our concern is that by awarding show championships to “heavier... »
The Westminster Dog Show just wrapped up the 2014 edition. Yet again, the Best in Show was won by a breed other than America’s favorite, the Labrador Retriever. Amazing as it sounds, the Lab has never won the Best in Show award at Westminster. There have been many reasons put forth as to why a Lab h... »
We’re back with a little SlimDoggy family mischief. I’ve written about my sister’s dog Taj (a weimaraner) in the past here, here and here. Poor Taj has been battling frequent bouts of pneumonia that they can’t seem to get to the bottom of. Last week she had an endoscopy (jus... »
We are joining the Give Cancer the Paw Blog Hop today. In our post for the Hop last November, we provided a list of general resources for pet owners on the initial diagnosis and treatment of canine cancer. Today, we are going to dig a little deeper and provide some insight into the diet and n... »
We continue our Dog Food Ingredients A to Z series with the letter “U”. In reality, there are not a lot of ingredients that start with the letter U. We decided on “USDA”, which in itself is not an ingredient, but is an adjective uses in some rare cases to describe a protein used in the ... »
Running is a great exercise for both you and your dog. Yet, many people don’t include running as a regular part of their fitness routine. This is unfortunate because of all the benefits that running provides to humans and dogs. Benefits of Running There are numerous benefits associated with... »
We’re joining the Blog the Change for Animals Blog Hop today. The purpose of this Hop is to: “Join Team BtC and others who care about animals in need by writing about your favorite animal-related cause, reading posts, leaving comments, and sharing on your favorite social networks!”... »
We continue our Dog Food Ingredients A to Z series with the letter “S”. Today’s ingredient is Selenium. What is Selenium? Selenium is a trace mineral that our bodies use to produce glutathione peroxidase, an enzyme that serves as a natural antioxidant. Common names fo... »
Last week we introduced the “6 C’s” pyramid approach to fitness, a conceptual and hierarchical approach to making fitness a part of your (and your dog’s) lifestyle. Today, we will provide details on the first of the “C’s”: Convenience. Exercise Convenience: A Broad Definition According to W... »
We shared a photo of Maggie getting her first acupuncture treatment for her arthritis on our Facebook page yesterday. Here is Jack watching over his little sister as she gets her treatment. BlogPaws Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop! »
Staying fit and healthy is a commitment. For you, and your pet. Fitness and health is achieved not by going to the gym for the 2 weeks after New Years, nor by an occasional bout of exercise every few weeks or months. Attaining fitness, and all of the wonderful benefits that come with it, require a c... »
The PetsMove.Org Health & Fitness Expo kicked off today with seven specific webinars related to your dogs health, nutrition and fitness. We continue with Day Two tomorrow with an additional seven sessions ranging from Stretching Your Dog Safely, to Why Running? to Nutrients in your dog’s f... »
Today kicks-off the week-long Resolve to Move Your Mutt Blog Hop! Yes, you have all week to join us in proclaiming your resolutions and your dog’s resolutions for the year. Our goal is to band together in an effort to help each other KEEP our resolutions. We plan to hold this Hop each quarter... »
For those that haven’t heard, the inaugural 2014 Move Your Mutt Health and Fitness Expo officially begins on January 1, 2014. We wanted to describe the Event and provide links to key information pages as well as some suggestions on how to participate in the Mutt-a-thon virtual fitness workout... »
The agenda for the PetsMove.org Expo is taking shape. Check out all of the events, webinars and activities planned: PetsMove Health & Fitness Expo Agenda Stay tuned for more info throughout the next few days and be ready to join us on January 1st! »
Today’s guest post is by Kate Voss. Kate is an entertainment writer from Chicago, IL who is the proud owner of her Chow/Shepard mix, Margot. As dog owners we are generally willing to do just about anything within reason to help our dogs live happy, comfortable lives, and minimize issues common... »
Given the season, we considered doing Peppermint Candy Canes for the “P” of our ingredient series, but you don’t find too much peppermint in dog food, and candy canes certainly aren’t good for them, so we went with Pantothenic Acid instead. What is Pantothenic A... »
We did a series of videos on dogs for eHow.com. In this one, we answer the question: “How much to feed a puppy”. (yes, we paraphrased the exact question that eHow wanted us to answer, but ours is more general). Rarely will you see a fat puppy. This is because their metabolism is... »
Pet owners often wonder whether their dog food is high in protein, fat, or carbohydrates- the macro nutrients of the food. Unfortunately, the answer to these questions is not easily attainable from the dog food label. To calculate a dog food’s protein, fat, or carb values, the guaranteed analysis ... »
No words needed – just the invite Join us for the first ever Move Your Mutt-a-Thon Canine Fitness and Health Expo. Learn more at at Petsmove.org. BlogPaws Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop! »
We created a new infographic for Thanksgiving with some Turkey Day FIT tips. Tips for you and tips for your dog! Food tips, fitness tips. A little of this and a little of that. Enjoy. We’ll be linking up to the special This ‘N That Thursday Thanksgiving edition spons... »
It is very important to make sure that your dog’s exercise routine is diversified and hits their systems and muscles in a balanced fashion. Otherwise, although you may have a fit dog, you might also have an injured dog. We have written about our philosophy on how to create a balanced traini... »
We now move to the letter “L” in our Ingredient A to Z series and are featuring L-Carnitine as our ingredient of the day. What is L-Carnitine? L-Carnitine is an amino acid that is naturally produced in the body. It is required for the transport of fatty acids from the cytosol (the liquid ins... »
We recently had a conversation about our PetsMove initiative with Gabriella Martinez, the Editor in Chief of Pupculturemagazine.com. Based in Rochester NY, Pupculture Magazine publishes 6 interactive issues each year on a wide range of topics related to dogs. It turns out that the interview... »
When we first heard about this new Blog Hop – Give Cancer the Paw – we were anxious to participate since we lost our black Lab, Becca to osteosarcoma about 18 months ago. We wrote about our experience with Becca in our Tale of Tails: Becca series which documented her diagnosis, treatment... »
Today we move to the letter “j” in our ingredient A to Z series and are featuring jicama as our ingredient of the day. What is jicama? According to Wikipedia, jicama, which is scientifically known as Pachyrhizus erosus, is the name of a native Mexican vine, although the name most commonly ref... »
Ben Franklin said that “Experience is the best teacher, but a fool will learn from no other”. Although dear old Ben was not known for his svelte body, he was quite a brilliant man. With that said, we would like to share our second, reader inspired infographic with tips for keeping your dog fit an... »
Today we move to the letter “I” in our ingredient A to Z series and we are featuring inulin as our ingredient of the day. What is inulin? According to Wikipedia, inulins are a group of naturally occurring polysaccharides produced by many types of plants. Inulins are dietary fibers that are cl... »
Here’s our first SlimDoggy Fit Tips infograph. Our great readers her on the blog and on Facebook submitted so many tips and success stories, we couldn’t fit it all in one chart, so we will be doing these regularly. If your tip doesn’t appear on this one, don’t worry, it will ... »
Hi everyone, Jack here. Last week I started to get a little itchy again, so momz said it was bath time for me and Maggie. Maggie couldn’t figure out why my itching meant she had to have a bath, but I guess that’s just the way momz think. I thought I would take this opportunity to share s... »
In support of National Pet Obesity Awareness Day, we created an infographic with some thought-provoking facts and figures on the pet obesity problem in the US. We plan to create a second infographic this month highlighting reader tips & advice for keeping their pets fit as well as featuring some... »
What is glycerin? Glycerin , is a sweetener and binder (humectant) that is commonly produced as a byproduct of soap making. It has traditionally been used in dog food as a texturing and sweetening agent. Common names for glycerin The most common name variations include glycerol, vegetable gl... »
I’ve had dogs in my life for most of my adult life – about 26 years (not to age myself or anything). These dogs include my first, Maxine and then Sally, Tino, Becca, Jack & Maggie, in order of appearance. I am and have always been diligent about walking my dogs. Luckily, I’m a ... »
We’re adding to our MythBuster series today and focusing on wellness myths since it’s Pet Wellness Month. What is Pet Wellness? It’s just what you think – keeping your pet fit, health and “well”. It’s preventative medicine for your pet. Many vets provide spe... »
I know today is Monday Mischief – one of our favorite Blog Hops, but we have something more important to talk about today. We are hijacking the Mischief post to talk about Pet Wellness. Can’t believe that it is almost October already but it is and October is National Pet Wellness month. ... »
Today we move to the letter E in our ingredient A to Z series and are featuring Enterococcus Faecium as our ingredient of the day. Admittedly, this is one tough ingredient to understand and there is some conflicting, and somewhat scary, information on it! What is enterococcus faecium? Entero... »
Before we begin today’s “D” entry of our Ingredients A to Z series, we wanted to share a statistic on our previous “C” post on calcium carbonate. We searched for “calcium carbonate” in our food database and found that it was an ingredient in 45% of all dog foods. A similar search on the term “calci... »
Yes, you read that right, we’re mythbusting about poop today. We’re joining Sugar, the Golden Retriever’s Scoop that Poop blog hop – a hop dedicated to raising awareness on the importance of scooping your dog’s poop. Along with Dogster.com they’ve created a great ... »
This week we have a very special announcement to make for our FitDog Friday post. Tomorrow is the official launch of our new “PetsMove” program (http://petsmove.org) . Like the First Lady, Michelle Obama’s childhood obesity awareness program “Let’s Move”, our “PetsMove” initiative aims to wake up... »
Dear Labby, My dog food label is so confusing and contains many ingredients that I don’t recognize. Today, I noticed that there is something called Ascorbic Acid in my dog’s food. Acid? Should I be concerned? I don’t want to be feeding my dog acid! Signed, I am not a chemist Dear Chemist, ... »
This week we continue our discussion of colorings in dog food by analyzing our data to determine just how common is the use of artificial food colorings in dog food. If you read our MythBuster post yesterday, you would know that dogs don’t really see yellows, oranges or red coloring – so... »
Today’s myth-busting is about a dog’s mouth. Maybe you’ve heard the old wives tale that a dog’s mouth is cleaner than a humans? Is it true? Let’s break it down. Here’s a list of things I see Jack put in his mouth almost every day: dog food grass coyote poop rabbit... »
Dear Labby, We just adopted a dog from the local shelter and we love her like crazy already, but her long nails are scratching our hardwood floors and she makes a lot of noise with them, clickety-click-click. I’ve never had to cut my dogs toenails before – am I supposed to do that? And h... »
I attended (and presented “My Dog at What?”) at the BarkWorld Conference last week. It was a fun event with many great presentations on a wide array of topics that are relevant for today’s pet industry. There was one presentation on the rising cost of pet medicine, by PetCareRX.com (an onlin... »
Today we are starting a new semi-regular series on dog myths. There are lots of myths out there about dogs, dog food, dog health and dog behavior. Lots of misinformation, lots of ‘google’ expert advice and lots of plain untruths. We’re going to help dispel some of these and give yo... »
We have been asked by some of our readers about the special considerations that apply when exercising a diabetic dog. The fact is, diabetes is a serious, but often manageable disease and it is not an excuse to let your dog become a couch potato. More than anything, canine diabetes is a disease tha... »
This month has been designated Senior Pet Month by BlogPaws. They created a great Infographic to help bring attention to the health concerns of seniors as well as the benefits of seniors – they provided some statistics on seniors too. Did you know that 84% of those surveyed believe senior pets... »
Welcome to another FitDog Friday post on canine fitness. This week, we begin our two-part series on Fitness Tips for senior Dogs. As you may know, we are big fans of senior dogs—our last three adoptions have been dogs eight years of age or older. This week seemed like the perfect time to wr... »
Dear Labby, We fell in love with dog at the shelter because of her beautiful eyes. One was blue and one was brown and they were so expressive. Our friends tell us that maybe there is something wrong with her or that she might become aggressive. Should we be worried? Blue-eyed Belle &nb... »
In recent posts, we have written about the importance and sources of the macro nutrients – protein, fat, and carbohydrates—in dog food. Today we continue our analysis of some of the other key ingredient groups that are common in commercially available dog food, starting with fruits and vegetables. ... »
This week we continue our analysis of dog food data so that we can provide you with some benchmarks with which to judge the merits of your dog food choices. We closed last week’s post by posing a question: Does the average dog food contain more protein, fat, or carbohydrates? Based on our prior pos... »
Last Sunday, I posted a picture of our Becca getting a laser treatment for her fused spine & arthritis. I thought this Sunday I would wrap up our Tale of Tails series on Becca. You can read Part 1 here. Picking up from Part I, we had just received a diagnosis that no pet parent wants to hear ... »
For today’s FitDog Friday we continue last week’s post with additional tips for running with your dog. Before we present Tips 6 -10, we wanted to share an experience that happened this morning on our run. It is a perfect example for Tip # 8 below. Today, Jack and I were on our normal trail run... »
Dear Labby- We have decided to get a dog (our first ever) and are both excited and nervous about it. We both work and are rather sedentary, so we think we need a low-energy dog; certainly nothing big or active like a Golden Retriever or Border Collie. As of now, we are leaning toward a Maltese R... »
Last week we wrote about ingredient splitting and used our data to show that about 17% of all foods and treats have multiple forms of the “fillers” rice, corn, or wheat. We then asked a related question—what percentage of all foods and treats contain at least one form of any of these fi... »
Here’s a picture of our Becca getting laser treatment for her fused spine…and very arthritic paws. You can see in the picture how larger her paws are – it’s from her days as a service dog. You can read more about Becca in our Tale of Tails series on her. We’re jo... »
I love running. Even more, I love running with my dogs. I have been running with my dogs for almost 20 years now, starting with Sweet Sally Brown, then Tino, Becca , and now Maggie and Jack. We are fortunate that since we moved to the West Coast, we have lived near great parks and trails, which make... »
Looking at the ingredient list on a dog food label is tricky. In many cases, the lists are long and contain names of ingredients that we are not familiar with. Today we begin a multi-part series that explains some simple ways to judge the ingredients in your dog’s food and provide some tips to hel... »
I wrote a FaceBook post yesterday regarding Canine DNA tests and asked whether folks had them done and what they thought of the results. I posted a picture of our dog Tino and asked what breed people thought he was based on his looks. We got lots of interesting answers from Rhodesian Ridgeback/Shar ... »
Thank Dog its FitDog Friday! This week, we are focusing on one aspect of our K9Kamp fitness challenge, hosted by our friends Peggy Frezon and Kol’s Notes. We chose to use the K9Kamp challenge to motivate us to modify Slimdoggy Jack’s regular exercise routine to include a more diversified set of act... »
Last week we talked about the role of carbohydrates in a dog’s diet, their benefits and sources. Today we will show you how to determine the carbohydrate amount in your dog’s food so that you can easily assess whether your dog food is providing the needed energy requirements from the proper sources.... »
It’s FitDog Friday again, SlimDoggy Jack’s favorite day of the week because he gets to read all the fun posts from his buddies and the cool new fitness activities they’ve been doing. It’s also K9Kamp time, so he’s even more excited to see what his fellow Kampers are up ... »
Dear Labby: Everyone says their dog has smelly breath, but what’s your opinion on dog teeth cleaning? When should the procedure be considered? Do some dogs have weak teeth/gums? I’m sure diet and lack of natural teeth cleaning options affect tooth/gum health. Does it cause bad breath in ... »
We have already established that dog’s need a diet high in protein and with adequate fat. But what about carbohydrates- is this macro-nutrient essential to a dog’s diet? To answer this question, let’s first discuss the role of carbohydrates and then look at what the canine’s ancestral diet might h... »
Just as protein is a crucial component to a dog’s diet, so too is fat, which provides many health benefits as we discussed last week. Talking about fat may not be too “Tasty”, but it is important. So, today we will look at some of the more common sources of fat in commercial dog food pro... »
Welcome to this week’s FitDog Friday Blog Hop where SlimDoggy and his blogger friends share ideas, stories, and photos on dog fitness and health. An Important Question Today we want to ask (and possibly answer) a simple, yet important question: “How do I know if my dog is fit & healthy?” I thou... »
After our last two Tasty Tuesday posts, we all know that protein is an important ingredient in a dog’s diet and what kinds of protein sources we should look for in our dog’s food. Today we will focus on the macro-nutrient “Fat”. Just like with humans, not all fat is bad, but it’s the right ki... »
Dr Katy Nelson, host of ABC’s The Pet Show, reported on an interesting topic – pet plastic surgery. You can read the article here: Pet plastic surgery a growing trend | WJLA.com I thought this was an important passage from the article.: And while plastic surgery in people is generally d... »
We saw an article about getting your dog slim and trim by Ron Miller at Dogintonpost.com . You can read the article here: Helping Your Pudgy Pooch Back To Slim and Trim | The Dogington Post. We obviously think it is great the Ron is writing about this as we have way too many overweight dogs in the w... »
Tasty Tuesday is about celebrating ‘good food’. Good food can mean many different things. To SlimDoggy, our goal is to help our friends understand the essentials of quality food, food you want to feed your pets every day. What makes it ‘good’ vs. what makes it not so good. We... »
We had a wildfire scare near our home the other day. The fire started roughly 4-5 miles away, but with wind gusts over 50 mph and tinder-like dry conditions here in CA, it was scary. They evacuated thousands of families to ‘evacuation’ centers, but they don’t usually allow dogs, so... »
Dear Labby, It’s that time of year again when the fleas & ticks come out in full force. Any ideas for safe, natural remedies? FleaBitten Dear Fleabitten, I hear you – nothing worse than coming home from a nice walk and bringing a lot of baggage in the way of fleas & ticks into th... »