Animal Echoes

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Feeding Raw Diet

What is a Raw Diet? A Raw Diet is a diet that is not cooked and is freed raw. Feeding your pet a raw diet is healthy for them and you know what is their food and that it does not contain any fillers or chemicals. This is great diet to have if your pet has any kind of health issues.
A raw diet contains only raw meats and veggies. The items are not cooked. You can give your pet raw bones as they will not splinter as with cooked bones. Some owners have worried about feeding Raw because of coli and Samolina poisoning. Every owner should wash their hands with soap and water to get rid of these bacteria’s for these are not safe in humans, but dogs and cats have immune systems to deal with these bacteria’s and are not affected by them.
Here is a list of some items your pet can try:
• Chicken - whole or any parts! (Backs, necks, wings, etc.)
• Turkey - whole or any parts (wings, necks, etc.)
• Cornish game hens (whole)
• Beef (any cuts)
• Oxtail
• Pork (necks, ribs, any cuts)
• Rabbit
• Fish (canned sardines in WATER, not oil, or Jack mackerel)
• Quail
• Buffalo, kangaroo- almost anything you can think of!
You can feed your dog raw bones but do not feed cooked bones as these will splinter and can cause harm to your pet.
Please note that you should change your pet’s diet slowly to make sure that they are not allergic to any of the meats. So for the first few weeks you should only feed one meat a week. So the first week, you would feed chicken, then next week turkey, etc.
You also need to include veggies, yogurt, pumpkin, eggs, etc to complete their diets. Some dogs love fruit and you can include them. Pumpkin Make sure that you are not feeding you pets any items that can be dangerous such as grapes, raisins, and other items that are deadly for your pets.
You should feed about 2%- 4% of your body pet’s body weight. Slowly change their diet, start by adding a little raw food to their current food. Every day add a little more until you completely change their diet to raw. You could also just add a little raw food their current diet. I know a lot of owners that feed their pets both a good quality dry food and also feed them raw food.
Know that changing your pet’s food to raw has several health benefits, that have been proven and also owners have seen in their pets. These includes a shiny coat, healthier looking skin, fresh breath/cleaner teeth, improve digestion, improve allergies, decrease in shedding, and overall healthier appearance and feeling.
If you do not want to fix your up your own recipe for a raw diet, now you can purchase raw food already mixed. There are several companies out there that are great for your pet and they have a great variety of food.
- Page Lee Raw Pet Diets :
- www.rawpetdiet.com
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- Aunt Jeni Home made
- http://www.auntjeni.com/

Labels: Animal Health, Feeding, Raw Diet

posted by Animal Echoes @ 12:00 AM 0 comments

Monday, March 8, 2010

Should you Change your pets diet as it ages?

NO. If your pet is doing fine on the food you feed it, there’s no need to change anything. If she’s experiencing problems related to aging such as constipation, or kidney or liver disease, follow these rules:

Dogs need fiber. In general, healthy older dogs need a diet that’s lower in calories and protein, but higher in fiber, which can reduce the risk of anal gland disease (common in small dogs), obesity, and pancreatic problems like diabetes. To get fiber in your dog’s diet, feed her whole grains like brown rice or barley and vegetables such as chopped-up broccoli, Swiss chard, or kale (raw or lightly steamed). Put everything through a food processor so she won’t be able to pick out the meat and leave the rest. Speak to your vet to determine how much added fiber is needed.

Don’t ignore canine weight gain. Dogs don’t automatically get heavier as they age. Check with your vet to make sure your pet isn’t suffering from pain, arthritis, or hypothyroid problems.

Cats need custom care. If your cat has liver disease, decrease the amount of fat and protein in her diet. If kidney disease is the issue, feed her less protein, and make it fish, chicken, or lamb. Include some whole grains, like millet, bulgur, and cornmeal, and add vegetables or psyllium seeds for fiber. (Older cats can suffer from constipation.)

Don’t ignore feline weight loss. Unlike dogs, cats can suffer from hyperthyroidism. If your cat ignores food she’s always eaten or has lost eight ounces or more in a month, get her to the vet.

Some food suggestions:

Labels: All Natural Diet, Cat, Diet, Dog, Pet

posted by Animal Echoes @ 12:00 AM 0 comments

Friday, March 5, 2010

A Roadside Rescue in Texas

One afternoon in early 2005, a woman drove past a very large, dark dog body in a ditch along a busy highway. Distractedly, she wondered what happened to it. A few hours later, she approached the dog body coming from the other direction and his head popped up just as she passed. "That dog is alive," she thought. She pulled her car over and got out.

The dog was alive. An emaciated and weakened Great Dane mix, he was a stray who had been hit by a vehicle and left to die.

Another car pulled up. A man stepped out to help. He said, "I've been seeing this dog for days, but I thought it was dead!"

Off to The Vet

Despite the risks involved with handling a heavy, badly injured, and potentially dangerous stray dog, they were determined to help.

The rescuers gently lifted the Great Dane into the back of the woman's SUV, and drove to a nearby veterinarian, who immediately began care. The dog had two broken forelegs, a broken pelvis, and a badly scraped and abraded muzzle and nose. He was starving and dehydrated.

Because the bones had started to knit, the vet guessed that the dog had been hit by a vehicle at least a week previously.

Muzzle-Walking

What about the scraped mouth and nose? The dog with two broken forelegs was attempting to walk on his muzzle, until he became too weak to move, the vet guessed.

The Specialist Helps

The vet called in a orthopedic specialist from a vet school several hours away. This specialist reduced his fees, because "a dog that wanted to live so badly" that he walked on his muzzle deserved special treatment.

After examining the x-rays and the dog, the specialist guessed that the injuries had occurred up to two weeks earlier. Probably Duke was near death when he was finally rescued, after laying beside the highway for many days without food, water, or treatment, while thousands of cars passed.

Duke’s Suffering

Did he raise his head and look at traffic, desperate for food and water? Starvation is painful. Did he attempt to reposition himself on the hard ground, as his multiple broken bones throbbed? Did anyone see him walk on his muzzle?

Apparently not one passerby saw him move during all those days of laying in the ditch. For who is hard-hearted enough to drive past, see a dog in distress, and not make even one phone call for help?

The Happy Ending

Surgeries and treatment began, and Duke's veterinarian continued to treat him for free, but the expenses were steep. A friend sent notices to Great Dane discussion lists across the nation asking for donations for Duke's medical expenses. Responses flooded in. Duke gained weight, had physical therapy, and was adopted.

Duke was a very, very lucky dog. By moving at the right moment, he connected with the brave heart of a woman who couldn't pass him by. For her rescue of Duke, Sunbear Squad presented the woman with a Gene Fields Humane Award.

For more rescue stories: http://www.sunbearsquad.org

Labels: Animal Rescue, roadside, Rscue, Texas

posted by Animal Echoes @ 12:00 AM 1 comments

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Rescued Dog with Two Broken Legs

There is a fenced area behind the ball field in Lakeside Park, Duncanville, Texas. A female white pitbull-type dog was seen sleeping in the bushes in this fenced area for one to two weeks by a kind neighbor, who brought the dog food and water every few days. She couldn't get close to the dog however. One day she noticed the dog was no longer drinking water. That is when she called me. I have a petfinder website under "Best Friends Animal Rescue Club." She told me where to look and I drove right out to Lakeside, bringing water; the neighbor was waiting for me.

We found the dog laying motionless in the bushes. We opened a food can and the dog started to rouse. She was very slow, but came for the food. She was hungry and thirsty. She was very afraid and reluctant to let me pet her, so I didn't push it. She drank lots of water and then laid back down. I could see that her front legs weren't right; they were swollen and I knew they could be broken. I told the neighbor that I would call a fellow rescuer and we would try to coax the dog into the car using food, which we did the very next day. We named her "Peary," because her light green-yellow eyes are the color of pears.

We brought Peary immediately to a vet clinic. She received all of her shots and was tested for heartworms. Thank goodness she was negative. However, her x-rays revealed what we had suspected. Both front legs were fractured and even worse, one was not lined up and had become infected. The vet suspected that she had jumped or had been thrown from a moving vehicle. Peary was immediately put on antibiotics and pain meds, and a veterinary surgeon examined her. Since her injuries had occurred probably at least two weeks earlier and the fractures were already calcifying, the surgeon concluded that she should continue to heal on her own. Antibiotics cleared up the infection. Although she will likely become arthritic in those bones later in life, she should enjoy good quality of life overall.

Peary (now renamed Gracie) has been adopted into a loving family, where she continues to recuperate. Best Friends Animal Rescue Club writes: "Thank you for the wonderful response that Gracie received. It is touching to know that so many people care about God's creatures. Gracie is in a foster home and her foster mom has fallen in love with her. She says that Gracie is home."

—Best Friends Animal Rescue Club, Texas

Labels: Animal Rescue, Broken Legs, Rescue

posted by Animal Echoes @ 12:00 AM 1 comments

Monday, March 1, 2010

18-Wheeler Rescue

18-Wheeler Rescue
It was an early evening in November. We were just outside of Grants New Mexico on I-40 East. My husband and I were on our way to Georgia to deliver a load. My husband is a truck driver and I was traveling with him, along with our two dogs, a lab mix and a Chihuahua. I was sitting in the passenger seat when out of the blue this dog came running out on the highway. We almost hit this dog!

My husband pulled the 18-wheeler over to the shoulder quickly and I threw my shoes on and got out of the truck. We were scared for the dog's life—it could get hit by a vehicle. The dog had stopped running and seemed scared and unsure about what to do. At first she just stood there and looked at us! I had forgotten to shut the door on the truck and my lab mix had jumped out after me. My dog ran to the stray dog and so I was able to grab the stray dog, a female. She had a collar on but no tags.

So we loaded her up and once we got her in the truck I checked her out to make sure she was okay. And while I was checking her out I realized we had a beautiful purebred Redbone Coonhound in our truck. I got online and did some searching to find out if anyone had a missing dog in the area. Found nothing! She stayed on the truck with us for the night and that was a very long night. With not much sleep, because she whined and cried all the time.

The next morning I was again on the computer looking desperately for the owners or a place for this dog. I wasn't going to dump her off at a "kill" shelter—I don't believe in that. I made call after call trying to find a place for this dog. Eventually I talked with a hound rescuer in Austin Texas and I sent pictures of the stray dog to him. Yes, she was a coonhound. The rescuer, Jerry, frantically called his contacts everywhere to find a place for this dog. He called us back and told us to take her to a place right out of Amarillo Texas named Critter Camp. She would wait there until another of Jerry's contacts could pick her up and bring her to an Austin Texas-based rescue group. Later that day I got an email from Jerry telling me that if he can't find the owners of this dog, he had someone ready to adopt her. All in a days work!

I'm a huge animal lover. Both my husband and I have saved many dogs. We take them out of horrible situations and find good loving homes for them. Someday I want to open my own business to help animals!

—Rachel, with Alan, her truckdriver husband

Labels: 18-wheeler rescue, Animal Rescue, coon hound Critter Camp, Rescue

posted by Animal Echoes @ 12:00 AM 0 comments

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Awareness

Everyone on the spiritual path talks about "awareness, awakening, enlightenment and being conscious.....etc." In our mind we make it very complicated and difficult. In reality it is simply being willing to NOTICE what you are thinking (or saying) about life. As we know, it is NOT about what is happening, but what you THINK about what is happening that counts. And like any other skill, it takes practice, practice, practice. When you learn that you can CHOOSE your thoughts, then you are "aware, awake, enlightened and conscious." When you experience this and know it is true, - this is the "truth that shall set you free".

No longer will it matter what other people say and do, nor what happens around you, because you are focused on what you want and how you feel. If you look around you can see how this works in life. Two role models I know who depict this truth, are the Dalai Lama and Greg Mortensen. You all know the Dalai Lama, and I hope you have read about Greg Mortensen. He has been building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan for the past 13 years. His books (Three Cups of Tea and Stones Into Schools) are best-sellers and very inspirational. He was second to Barack Obama to get the Nobel Peace Prize, and now he is working with our military forces in Afghanistan to teach them how to become friends with the local people, rather than enemies. He meets and talks regularly with the head of the Joint Chief of Staff, Mike Mullen. All he has done is stay focused on what he wants.

If it works for these two men in war torn countries, then I am certain it works for us in our lives.

Labels: Awareness, Choose, Dalai Lama, Greg Mortensen

posted by Animal Echoes @ 12:00 AM 0 comments

Friday, February 26, 2010

AP Poll: Pet owners willing to go mouth-to-muzzle

LOS ANGELES — Most pet owners would leap into action for an injured pet, even if it meant risking dog breath by going mouth-to-snout.

Fifty-eight percent of pet owners — 63 percent of dog owners and 53 percent of cat owners — would be at least somewhat likely to perform CPR on their pet in the event of a medical emergency, according to an Associated Press-Petside.com poll.

Tammy Parks, 52, of Amherst, Mass., has taken a pet first aid class and wouldn't hesitate to help her 15-year-old mixed breed terriers, Lucy and Julia, or her white fronted Amazon parrot Koko.

"It's not rocket science. The mechanics are the same as humans," said Parks, who was an American Red Cross first aid trainer. "Size is the biggest difference."

In general, though, the poll found few pet owners are prepared to handle pet emergencies. Just 20 percent of pet owners have a pet first aid kit in their home, and 54 percent do not have a fire evacuation plan for their pets.

And the survey revealed frequent reporting of dangerous practices that can lead to accidents and injuries. For example, a quarter of pet owners, including 30 percent of dog owners and 22 percent of cat owners, give their pets bones from table scraps, at least sometimes.

Sixty-two percent of dog owners and a third of cat owners let their pets ride in their cars unrestrained, rather than placing them in a special pet carrier. And 11 percent of pet owners sometimes leave their pets unattended in a car or truck.

Still, most pet owners said they would go the extra mile to rescue their pets. Women were more likely to say they would perform CPR on their pets than men, 65 percent to 50 percent, the poll showed.

Nearly every decision made at the Parks house is made with the safety of the animals in mind.

"We don't use pesticide on the lawn. We don't buy food with pesticide on it. No sugar, no salt, just natural nuts and fruits. No Teflon in the house, no smoking, no air fresheners, no aerosol products," she said, explaining that any one of those things could kill their 7-year-old bird.

Barbara Klingman of Houma, La., said she changed things after her Chihuahua, Honeychild, ate something that forced an emergency trip to the vet.

"I make sure she doesn't have anything she shouldn't have," Klingman said of the 7-pound, 4-year-old dog.

The poll showed 7 percent of those polled have pets who have eaten something poisonous and 16 percent have pets who have had allergic reactions to something.

There were also threats from pets themselves: 17 percent reported having a pet bitten or attacked by another animal, 9 percent said a pet had bitten or attacked another animal and 5 percent said a pet had bitten or attacked another person.

The poll revealed that 41 percent have experienced at least one pet safety emergency that required an emergency trip to a vet and 11 percent have had a pet hit by a car.

Edwin Griffin Jr., 61, of Plano, Texas, remembers all too well 25 years ago when his white German shepherd ran in front of a car. The dog broke both hips and his jaw, lost an eye and was in intensive care at an animal hospital for two weeks.

"I had just lost my wife the month before. My children were 1 and 3. I mortgaged the car to save my dog because of the impact it would have had on the children," he said.

The dog lived six more years.

Now Buddy, Griffin's 3-year-old golden retriever, has a first aid kit, a carbon monoxide alarm in the room where he sleeps and several designated escape routes for emergencies. But it's Buddy who's come to the rescue of humans in his home, especially Griffin's father-in-law, who is in the final stages of pancreatic cancer.

"My wife's father gets a great deal of relief from being able to touch and rub Buddy. Buddy just stands beside him. He knows that is his role," Griffin said.

Pet safety and CPR training is offered by the American Red Cross and many private companies. "Vets are the experts but they are rarely on scene when something happens to our pets," said Denise Fleck, who runs Sunny-Dog Ink in Burbank and has written pet safety textbooks, appeared on a number of TV shows and taught classes throughout Southern California.

Disaster plans are important, too, especially in areas like Southern California that are at the mercy of earthquakes and fires.

"If people value their pets like a family member, they should know how to do CPR, just like they would for their kids. In disasters, pets get hurt and run into debris and all kinds of things," said Mark Solnick, director of emergency preparedness and response for the Red Cross of Santa Monica.

Laurie Sullivan, 47, of Littlerock, Calif., has three dogs (Elsa Ann, Hope and Schotzie), an Arabian horse (Cary) and 19 cats. She has tended to a wide variety of emergencies over the years. Lucky for her menagerie, she was a certified emergency medical technician and a hospital worker.

She was there to help when one of her dogs choked on a small bone, when one of her cats had a hard time delivering eight kittens, when a neighbor lost the tip of her finger to a horse and for countless everyday cuts, scrapes and bruises.

She has never had to use CPR on an animal, but she knows how to. However, "it would really be hard to give CPR to a horse," she laughed.

The AP-Petside.com poll was conducted Oct. 1-5, 2009, by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media. It involved telephone interviews on landline and cell phones with 1,166 pet owners nationwide, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points for all pet owners.

Labels: Ap Pole, Keep pets safe, Pet Owners, Pets, Pets health

posted by Animal Echoes @ 12:00 AM 3 comments

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