12 Days of Christmas List 2022!
It’s time to do our annual 12 Days of Christmas Gift Giving Guide. Each year we choose companies or products that donate to animal rescue organizations. We love looking for new products and companies that share our goals in helping animal rescues across the country save and find forever homes for pets in need. And this year we have another amazing list of companies and products to share with you!
2022 is coming to a close, and that means it’s time to do our annual 12 Days of Christmas Gift Giving Guide. Each year we choose companies or products that donate to animal rescue organizations. We love looking for new products and companies that share our goals of helping animal rescues across the country save and find forever homes for pets. And this year we have another amazing list of companies and products to share with you!
1)GivePet: Dog Treats
Looking for some tasty treats to put under the Christmas tree for your dog? GivePet has a wide variety of dog treats and with every purchase of a bag of treats; GivePet donates enough treats for at least 10 shelter dogs.
2)Conscious Step: Socks
Keeping your feet warm has never been more rewarding. With the purchase of these socks; Conscious Step donates to Best Friends Animal Society. Best Friends Animal Society is one of the largest animal welfare groups in the United States.
3)Paw Print Charity Ring: Pura Vida
This paw print ring is not only cute but for each ring sold 5% of the purchase price will be donated to Best Friends Animal Society. As we mentioned with the previous company, Best Friends is an animal welfare organization that helps animal shelters with resources to help find shelter pets a loving home.
This company has an amazing origin story. The owner adopted an adorable pit mix named Wilson. She saw how giving dogs, with breed prejudice, a second chance can save lives! Wilsonhaus donates 30% of the proceeds from their candles to animal shelters and rescues across the US.
5)Lush: Charity Pot Coin
For those in your life that are environmentally conscious and like clean beauty products, this is the gift for them. It’s the packaging-free version of their famous Charity Pot body lotion. And they donate 100% of the purchase price to different charities around the world. Some of the past recipients of these donations have been HugABull Advocacy and Rescue Society, Hawaii Wildlife Center, and The Responsible Animal Care Society.
6)Grounded Sage: Holiday Soap
Grounded Sage is an organic skincare company that combines its belief in the healing power of plants and sustainable packaging. And their founder Jamie rescued dogs herself and has donated a portion of the proceeds to animal rescues in Canada. One of the main charities they support is Bullies in Need which helps Bully breed dogs that face euthanasia in Ontario and CanFix which is a task force in Ontario Canada that offers spay and neuter resources to help pet overpopulation.
We can't forget our Dogs this Christmas. Little Beast Co makes quality and ethically produced clothing for your best friend. They have everything from onesies to socks to help keep your dog stylish and warm. And at check out make sure to mark the box that says donate, and you can choose which charity Little Beast donates 5% of your purchase. Currently, they are helping Baypath Humane Society of Hopkinton, Deity Animal Rescue and Foundation, Honoring Hope and Faith Rescue, and Pup Starz Rescue.
Next, we chose another skincare company that makes naturally sourced and cruelty-free products. And the best part is that for every order, 100% Pure donates a bowl of vegan dog food. They chose vegan dog food because of its environmental benefits. One bowl of vegan dog food can save 60sqf of rainforest, 90lb of grain, 2000 gallons of water, and the lives of at least 2 livestock animals each day. Some of the charities they have worked with are Wags and Walks, Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society of Silicon Valley, and ASPCA.
This company has combined two of the best things in the world… Wine and Dogs! Rescue Dog Wines is located in Lodi, Ca (near my hometown of Manteca). This winery has a great selection of wines from Demi-Sec Sparkling wines to Cabernet Sauvignon. Rescue Dog Wines also donates 50% of its profits to animal rescue organizations. Some of the organizations they have helped are Pug Nation Rescue of LA, French Bulldog Rescue Network, and the Humane Society of Sonoma County.
This company makes our list every year because their coffee is THAT good!! We also love all the dog-themed flavors and apparel they sell. And of course, the best part is that 100% of profit made from their Rescue Roast gets donated to animal rescue organizations. This quarter they are donating to Beagle Freedom Project. Beagle Freedom Project rescues dogs from labratory testing and has passed some legislation stopping the testing on animals.
This treat company was founded on the principle of making healthy dog treats with simple high-quality ingredients. These treats only have 2 ingredients with the main meat source being the largest ingredient. Kono's Kitchen also donates 10% of its profits to the medical care of shelter animals.
12)Dog Threads
Our final recommendation for our gift-giving guide is Dog Threads. This company makes quality closes, that you can match with your dog! They have sweaters, pajamas, and sweats for you and your best four-legged friend. Dog Threads donates 2% to homeless animals. This quarter they are donating to The Love Pit.
We love making our Gift Giving Guide for you every year. It's always great when we can spread the word about small business and help animal rescues in the process. We hope you have a wonderful Holiday season. We will see you in 2023!
What is your Energy saying to your dog?
For decades, dog trainers have instructed dog owners to show their dogs calm and confident energy. I wanted to explore this concept and the practical ways you can show your dog calm and confident energy.
For decades, dog trainers have instructed dog owners to show their dogs calm and confident energy. This term became widespread after Cesar Milan's show The Dog Whisperer became a television sensation. In my eight years of working with dog owners, many people have heard this term but don't know how to implement it daily. I wanted to explore this concept and the practical ways you can show your dog calm and confident energy.
Dogs are non-verbal animals making them reliant on other factors to communicate with the animals around them. Dogs do this through body language, tonality, and interaction with others. An animal's body language conveys the state of mind of that animal. For example, If an animal has its head lowered, is walking slowly towards you, and has a curl in its lip showing teeth while growling. Would you think this animal is friendly? No, you wouldn't. Even though that animal didn't say to you, "I'm angry," you know through its body language and tone that they are angry, and you should stay away. Conversely, if an animal has its head held high, it interacts with other animals by sniffing and letting others approach them without growling. You could assume that the animal is calm.
Cesar Milan explains, "Energy is how any being presents itself to the world." Dogs respond best to calm and confident energy in both humans and animals. We can understand this because humans would also rather listen to someone who knows what they are doing but gives direction with assertiveness and calmness. Humans have better relationships with a leader that challenges them to be their best without putting them down than with a coach who knows nothing about the sport but thinks yelling would get the best result from the team.
Here's the million-dollar question, though. As a dog owner, how can you show your dog calm and confident energy? Below are the best ways to show this energy to your dog.
Body Language: Sit or stand up with your shoulders rolled back, and your head held high. Humans habitually hunch our shoulders and lower our heads when we walk and sit. Your dog will see hunched shoulders are someone unsure of themselves. Using your eyes to communicate is also a way we can show our energy. If you are looking away from your dog and not engaged with them, your dog will think you are distracted and not paying attention. With our eyes, we can communicate that we are attentive to our dog and are in control of the situation. Dogs are among the few animals, other than humans, who can read facial expressions—our eyes are how we use them to communicate our energy to our dogs.
Tonality: Use as few words as possible. When words are necessary, use words with an assertive tone instead of a high-pitched or questioning tone. One way you can work on this is to think about the intention of what you are asking of your dog—for example, asking them to "Sit." If you ask them to "Sit" in a high-pitched voice almost questioningly, your dog may think you want to play or that you aren't serious about having them "Sit." When you firmly ask your dog, your dog will know you aren't suggesting they "Sit"; you are serious about giving them this cue.
Interaction with others: Dogs are very observant. And in your home environment, your dog will look to how you interact with others in your home to help them determine your energy. This is especially true if you have other dogs in your house. When you ask the other dogs to "Sit," do you follow through with holding them accountable? What do you do if that other dog won't listen? If you have children in the home, how do you act if your child won't listen to you? Are you constantly yelling? Or can you assertively communicate with others? All these examples are ways your dog picks up if you are confident, calm, and level-headed. Rather than if you are unsure and anxious.
Energy is the way every animal communicates with others. And your energy is essential in your relationship with your dog, and I would argue it's the most critical factor. Your dog will feel more secure and protected and have fewer behavioral issues with an owner who calmly but assertively guides them through the world.
Pack drive and why it’s important
Dog trainers often talk about a dog's pack drive. Many dog trainers believe that dogs with a low pack drive are more likely to have behavioral issues later in their life. This is why I wanted to dive deeper into this subject to help better bridge the gap between behavioral theory and how it affects and benefits your everyday life.
In the dog training space, trainers often talk about a dog's pack drive. Many dog trainers believe that dogs with a low pack drive are more likely to have behavioral issues later in their life. However, this concept is not often understood by many dog parents. This is why I wanted to dive deeper into this subject to help better bridge the gap between behavioral theory and how it affects and benefits your everyday life.
Dogs are social animals that thrive on positive social interactions with both humans and dogs. Pack drive refers to a dog's desire to be with and function as a unit with other dogs and people. Like humans, dogs learn so much about the world through their social interactions. If your dog has limited social interactions this can affect their behavior towards new people and dogs. Behavioralists and dog trainers alike highly encourage activities and settings that help foster a natural pack drive in your dog.
Every dog has many different drives including pack drive. Dogs also have prey drive, fight drive, and flight drive. These different drives are embedded in your dogs' DNA and have helped them survive for thousands of years. A dog's pack drive is a strong social bond with its family, a desire to listen to and protect their family, the accusation of resources, and attention to their humans.
A dog with a healthy pack drive would behave like preferring to be with its human, are attentive to its humans and notice when they exit a room, and also prefer to sleep in the same room as its human. It is important to note, that noticing when their human leaves the room, is not the same as following their human from room to room. When a dog follows their human from room to room this is often an indicator of an insecure dog that may develop separation anxiety. Your dog should be able to notice when you enter or exit an area as well as be able to control the need to be next to you every minute of the day. Many dog behaviorists correlate a healthy pack drive with a dog that is confident, balanced, and focused. Dogs with low pack drive tend to not be concerned with being near their humans and are described as independent or even cat-like.
To foster your dogs' pack drive while at home you must first add structure into your daily routine. This can look like utilizing your dog's crate or limiting access to areas of your home, having a feeding and exercise schedule, and making sure that you enforce what you ask of your dog. By doing these things inside your home you are adding predictability as well as making yourself an essential part of their daily lives.
Outside of the home, there are 3 things you can do to help build a good pack drive in your dog.
Make sure they do not pull on the leash. If your dog is walking in front of you and dragging you with them, you are no longer relevant to your dog. They are more interested in the outside world than in you. Teaching your dog to walk next to you on a loose leash helps to make you more important on the walk and helps them develop a healthy pack drive.
Invest in some obedience training with your dog. Dogs with a healthy pack drive want to listen to their humans and enjoy earning their food, toys, etc. Taking the time to teach your dog the desired way you want them to behave. For example, if you want your dog to be calm and wait for their food, then you must train them to “Sit” and “Stay”. Another example would be if you want your dog to walk next to you on a leash and not pull you, then you will need to train them how to “Heel”.
Make plans with friends to do a neighborhood pack walk. If your dog has some friends in your neighborhood, use that as an opportunity to walk them together. If your dog is reactive towards other dogs, I would recommend speaking with a dog trainer or behavioralist. Your dog will need to learn how to be able to walk past or even look at other dogs without barking and lunging. Teaching your dog this skill will make both your dog's life and yours so much happier.
Walking your Puppy
Many new puppy parents have envisioned taking their puppy on long walks or hikes for months while they wait to get the all-clear by their veterinarian. While it's great to have these goals for you and your puppy to one day do together, it's also important to start by going slow. Also begin taking steps to teach them about walking next to you inside your home, before they walk outside.
Having a puppy in your home is a fun and exciting time! It can also be frustrating and tiresome. Puppies have so much energy; until they get all their vaccinations, it's hard to give them a productive outlet to be physically active. Many new puppy parents have envisioned taking their puppy on long walks or hikes for months while they wait to get the all-clear by their veterinarian. While it's great to have these goals for you and your puppy to one day do together, it's also important to start by going slow.
Your puppy begins to learn from the minute you bring them into your home, and hopefully, while they have been getting acclimated to their new environment; you have developed a way for you two to understand each other. Training is essential in maturing your puppy into the best dog they can be. Through training, you also develop a dialogue with your puppy to help them better understand this very new and strange environment they are in.
Once your puppy has had all their vaccinations, the inclination for helping them release their energy is to go for long walks. However, your puppy should only be going on 15 to 20 minute walks at a time. This is because your puppy's body is still growing and hard physical exercise can cause damage to their bones. If you have a larger breed dog that is prone to hip or bone issues this is especially useful information. If your dog has a flatter muzzle (brachycephalic dogs) it is harder for your dog to take in oxygen so they have a lower tolerance for strenuous exercise.
You also want to consider the temperature outside and on the sidewalks when taking your puppy for a walk. If you live in an area with warmer temperatures; the sidewalks and asphalt can become extremely hot. Your puppy's pads on their feet are sensitive and should not be walking on asphalt during the hottest part of the day.
A puppy's first venture outside on a walk can become chaotic if you have not done some leash training inside your home. Puppies have no frame of reference for what a leash is, so they will try to bite and chew the leash. Introducing the leash to your puppy over the first three months of their life while they are inside is ideal to help with their leash walking later. Your puppy will want to pull, so introducing what "Heel" means will also help you have a calmer walk. Having a good "Heel" cue with your dog doesn't mean that your puppy isn't allowed to sniff during the walk. Allow your puppy to sniff and explore their neighborhood, you can teach them a release cue like "OK" or "Go Sniff" so your puppy knows they don't have to be in the "Heel" position.
If your puppy still has a lot of energy after your short walk this would be a good time to play games like fetch or tug inside your home. Both those games work to release physical energy and can be used as training tools for learning recall and to drop objects from their mouths. Working your puppy's mind will also help with their extra energy. Giving them a Kong or playing "Find it" are good enrichment toys for mental stimulation.
Over time your puppy will build endurance and you will be able to take them on the long walks and hikes you envisioned taking them on when you first got them. Taking these steps of training before the walk, and taking shorter walks during the first 6 months of their lives will set them up to be healthy and well-mannered on walks.
The Forever Dog book review
One of the most anticipated books for 2021 in the Pet industry was The Forever Dog by Rodney Habib and Dr. Karen Shaw Becker DVM. Dr. Karen Shaw Becker is a Veterinarian that has dedicated her career to finding ways, through nutrition, to increase the longevity of her patients. Rodney Habib is the founder of Paws for Change which funds research into animal nutrition and lifespan. These two authors came together over their mutual passion for animals living longer, healthier lives. The Forever Dog is a culmination of their research in both Dr. Becker’s veterinary expertise as well as Habib’s pet nutrition experience.
After reading this book, I found it was packed with fact-based information about nutrition, supplements, and the hazards inside our home that can be harmful to our pets. Dr. Becker and Habib cite several research studies from all over the world that inform their recommendations in this book. In this article, I will be going over the information that I found from The Forever Dog to be the most important or eye-opening for pet parents. Overall, I highly recommend The Forever Dog to any pet parent. The information available to pet parents currently about dog’s health and nutrition is marketing directly from pet food companies, so that information is biased. The Forever Dog offers the most current information through scientific studies to help any pet parent make the best decisions for their pet on how to nourish and provide healthy homes for their pets.
It’s no surprise that one of the biggest longevity factors in dogs, is the same in humans; weight. Food and weight are the highest factors to determine the health and long life of your dog. One study The Forever Dog cited found that the humans and dogs that were cohabitating, tend to have the same medical conditions such as obesity and allergies. Food and nutrition are heavily discussed in the book, and you will learn how the entire pet food industry began. It’s not a happy or wholesome way to start an industry that feeds the animals we share our heart and home with. We also find out that several of the Veterinary hospitals such as VCA are owned by the parent company of Purina. Another troubling fact is that prescription dog food is not prescription. Pet food companies label it as a prescription to increase the price and exclusively sell them at Veterinary practices to further the image of prescription, but there is no medicine in those foods. The most important message in The Forever Dog is to read your dog's food label. And research the ingredients labeled on the food.
A study conducted at Cornell tested 18 different pet foods, even those labeled non-GMO. That study found that 16 of the 18 pet foods tested positive for glyphosate, which is the main herbicide in Roundup. Glyphosate is a known carcinogen and has been linked to seizures, cancer, kidney failure, gastrointestinal disease, and liver disease in dogs.
Environmental VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) are another area that is often overlooked to extend your dog's life. These are caused by paints, carpets, upholstery, air fresheners, and other cleaning products. The effects of VOCs in dogs have been known to cause eye and nose irritations, also nausea, dizziness, and in some cases cancer. It would be impossible to remove all VOCs from your home, so Dr. Becker and Habib recommend some simple swap-outs for household cleaners as well as draping organic blankets over your couches and even their beds. Our furniture and dog beds, more often than not, have flame retardants that are high in VOCs. However, draping them with organic cotton or fabric creates a barrier to block them.
The Forever Dog does give solutions to help you give your dog the healthiest life possible. Here are some of my favorite ones from the book.
Swap out 10% of your dog's food for whole food, like blueberries, carrots, and unprocessed meat. This small change can help reduce weight in your dog and increase their longevity.
Take out processed treats from your dog's diet.
Rotating fresh foods and proteins, as well as your dog's food brands, is the best way to get bio-diverse foods to your dog.
Diversify your dog's foods. Do this slowly, however. This will help support your dog's immune system.
Fasting once a week is healthy and beneficial for dogs.
Respect your dog's circadian rhythm by feeding them within an 8-12 hour window. Also, make sure to open your blinds during the day to help support their circadian rhythm.
Use treats with a single ingredient. Like an all-meat treat.
Research suggests that eating once a day is ideal for dogs' longevity.
Contact your dog's pet food company, if you have any questions about the ingredients or their manufacturing process.
Adding tea or bone broth to your dog's food helps their gut health. Spermidine mushrooms and Chaga tea have all been shown to increase lifespan in dogs.
Have a dog diary, where you record your dog's reactions to different foods.
If you had a stressful day, take a shower right when you get home. Your dog will pick up on your stress through its heightened sense of smell. This will help reduce the stress your dog is exposed to.
I would highly recommend every pet parent go out and get a copy of The Forever Dog. It was informative and eye-opening to the simple ways we can help our furry best friends live long healthier lives.