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8/13/10: Have you ever seen puppies... or adult dogs, I guess, who
are good with any situation, happy no matter what's thrown at them? Then,
and perhaps you've owned them, puppies or dogs who are scared of their
own shadow, and when thrust into, say, having to be boarded, or a trip to the
vet, the dog just gets in a corner and shivers? You know, in most cases there
is something you can do about that, or could have been done at an earlier
age. It's not something that, in most instances, is inborn in that dog. It's
something learned, or rather a failure to teach them, as puppies, to gladly
accept new things. Now, there are certain breeds who are naturally cautious,
making it much more likely a puppy of that breed will have a certain degree
of a standoffish personality. Confidence is what you want to see in a dog.
The dog will be happier; you'll be happier; and if stress is as I believe, a
killer, your dog will live a longer, healthier life. After all, we all want our
dog to be happy, don't we? And a frightened, nervous dog is not the
epitome of happy.
The key to a confident dog is to socialize them well as a puppy. I know,
what with viruses like parvo and distemper out there, one has to be careful
where you take a puppy before his immune system has a chance to fully
develop, but there are things you can safely do while they're young. You
can invite friends and family over to play with the puppy and show it that a
visitor is definitely a great thing! One of the best things you could do is take
it to a well-qualified puppy class. I don't mean just ANY puppy class,
either. I mean one instructed by an absolute, positive reinforcement
trainer/instructor, someone who has been doing it for years. Some trainers
claim to be positive, but then turn around and give leash corrections, or even
drag the reluctant puppy by its collar to center stage to demonstrate
something with them. That's NOT positive; it's not acceptable; and should
never be used to develop a puppies love for people. If you are uncertain or
have any question about just what makes a sure enough positive trainer,
please call or drop by and ask us. As you know, Tina and I are extremely
positive in our interactions with dogs. We believe a dog brought up with a
kind hand will go a long way toward turning that little puppy into the kind
of dog you will love forever and proudly take everywhere.
We're concerned about this because we love to see happy dogs. Happy
dogs come here and can begin having fun right from the start. Scared dogs,
however, come in and it takes them sometimes days before the idea that Tina
and I are good guys and we're here for their enjoyment clicks in their heads.
We see it over and over, and just wish that dog could have known all along
that we're their friend and wouldn't do anything to harm them. It makes us
feel very bad for them. We sit quietly with them in their runs, just to let
them get used to us. And you can see it in their eyes when it hits them that,
hey, I LIKE these guys! Wouldn't it have been great if they could have come
through the front door with that attitude? It can happen, I promise.
If you have a young puppy, one that is old enough to have had all its puppy
shots, please think about bringing them to us to board, say, just for the day
or a weekend. Or, shoot, just bring them by for a few minutes, just to let
them meet new dog lovers. It needs to believe that the outside world is
something to enjoy, not to be feared. Get them started young! We board
dogs that have been coming to us since they were sixteen weeks old, and
they come flying through the front door and jump all over us! Man, it just
makes my heart feel great to know that Tina and I played a big part in
building that dog's confidence. And don't forget puppy classes. We know
some of the best puppy trainers in the business. Get that puppy enjoying
life, no matter where it finds itself, and you and it will have a GREAT
relationship.
***************************************************************************************
Coming up, there will be some changes around here. No, no, nothing that
will affect you or your pets, but it will be with our involvement in the
conservation of the New Guinea singing dog (NGSD). We have owned one,
Jingle, and have been members of the New Guinea Singing Dog
Conservation Society since the summer of 2006. But since Jingle was chosen
by the Society to be bred this year, we have decided to jump in with both
feet working in the conservation of these dogs, a dog that is known as a
living fossil. New Guinea singing dogs are known to be the oldest, and
rarest, pure bred dog in the world. Now, when I say "pure bred", I don't
mean that they were bred by people trying to achieve a certain look, or to
accomplish a certain task; no, they have been on this planet for some fifteen
thousand years, and are the result of being a naturally evolved animal,
isolated on the island of New Guinea. Anyway, click here to read more
about what is happening in our little corner of the singing dog universe, and
once the puppies come, make sure you check back often during the next few
months for lots of pictures and tales of what raising what could be the cutest
little furballs in the world. And, if you want to meet one happy little, very
outgoing singing dog, come by and meet our Murray. After meeting him,
you may get the idea you would like to own a singing dog. And, shoot, you
may just have the perfect home to be involved with their conservation, but
it's more likely that you don't. They're not for everybody. In fact, you've got
to be a little strange... you know?
As an update, we picked Hagen, the New Guinea singing dog from the
Exmoor Zoo in the U.K., at Atlanta Airport the morning of August 7th. And
let me tell you, if you ever decide to import an animal, especially an exotic
animal, come talk to me first. It's a headache! Check out our singing dog
page for pictures of Hagen!
*************************************************************************************
Beginning April 1st, 2010, Tina and I became more active in rescuing cats,
specifically, a litter of feral kittens born in a stack of pine straw bales under
the porch on our house. Attention to their arrival was brought to us by our
dogs. The nest the kittens were born in was only about two feet on the other
side of a wood privacy fence surrounding our backyard, where our dogs go
outside. We noticed they were spending much of their time outside glued
to the wood fence, sniffing as though there was something mighty tasty on
the other side.
After a day or so of this, I walked around to the pine straw stack under our
porch to see just what it was that had our dogs so excited. As I approached
the pine straw, expecting to find a opossum or something, a cat came
hauling out, making all sorts of hissing and growling noises - I definitely
had her upset with my presence.
As she hurried on out of sight, I walked over and began pulling off pine
straw bales, trying to find out what was going on. After I removed the
second bale, I noticed a nest full of tiny kittens. Oh, great... We had noticed
this same mother cat hanging around the house for months, but we definitely
hadn't noticed her being pregnant.
So we began talking to some friends we know who are heavily involved in
cat rescue, and they all advised us to wait until the kittens were four weeks
old, at which time they would be old enough to safely remove from the
mother.
So we began feeding mom, making sure she was getting a healthy diet on
which to nurse her babies. Time rocked on, and we did our best to keep our
dogs from annoying the mom from just on the other side of the wood fence
she had built her nest. Using April 1st as the birth day, we counted off four
weeks. On that day, we set a trap and caught the mother cat, then rushed
over to take the kittens out of the nest. With the mother safely in a trap, we
were going to hold her overnight, then take her to West Georgia
Spay/Neuter Clinic in Villa Rica to have her "fixed", so this wouldn't happen
again, and again...
I went to the pine straw stack and began uncovering her nest only to find that
she had moved her kittens some time during the previous day or two. So
that meant there were kittens still highly dependent on mom somewhere.
That also meant that we had to release mom, so that she could continue
taking care of the kids, and hope for a chance to catch them in the days and
weeks ahead. I walked up to our carport, got the trap containing one very
upset cat, opened the gate and watched a cat go from 0 - 60 in about two
seconds. In the back of my mind I was just very happy she didn't decide to
come out wanting to teach me a lesson for trapping her!
We had no idea where the kittens were, but we continued to leave food out
so that mom could eat if she so desired. And she did! We would see her
every day as we would come home for lunch, waiting on Tina to set her feast
out on the pine straw bales. This went on for days and days. We suspected
that she had stashed the kids among all the downed trees to the right of our
driveway as you turn in, that we had piled there after the Mothers Day
tornado of 2008. But we knew, if they were there, there was no way we
would be able to get them. They were too small and fragile to try to catch in
the live trap, so the best we could do is just keep feeding mom, hoping to
give them the best chance possible at growing up healthy.
Four weeks had passed since the day we had trapped mom and tried to get
the kittens, so that put them awfully close to eight weeks old. While cutting
grass at our driveway entrance, I looked over to my left and saw a little,
white face looking at me. I looked closer, and atop that pile of downed trees
I saw two faces, then three. I immediately called Tina, here at the Lodge and
told her I had found the kittens!
Starting that day, we began leaving food as closely as we could to where I'd
seen them. Something was indeed eating it every day, and it didn't take long
before we began seeing them every day waiting on us to leave food for them.
So it became a daily thing to stop and leave fresh food and water for the
kids as we'd leave the Lodge for lunch.
We had to come up with a plan to try to catch them. We knew that those
kittens growing up as feral cats would likely live a short, very tough life,
possibly becoming a snack for some wild animal or neighborhood dog.
Again, knowing it probably wasn't safe to use the live trap on them, a vet
friend of ours, Dr. Linda Baxter at Lakeview Animal Hospital in Carrollton,
suggested we set up a dog crate and begin leaving their daily meal in the
crate. Then once we had them comfortably inside the crate happily eating,
with a string tied to the gate, we would pull the gate shut. Now this was the
plan, and on the drawing board, it was indeed a brilliant plan! But, when
you add the human factor (Tina and I), brilliant plans can go insanely awry.
Yep, with kitties... well, three of the four, and mom too, inside and scarfing
down the food, and with me standing at the end of the string about forty feet
away, and with Tina standing only about fifteen or twenty feet away, Tina
moved in a little closer to try to spook the mom out. See, as best as we had it
figured... in our minds, at least, mom being in the crate would only make
things more difficult.
Now let me let you peek into our minds so you will know the "logic" that
went into our planning. With mom moved out of the crate before we "pull
the trigger", she will be safely hiding somewhere WAY away from the
action... and everybody lives happily ever after. WRONG!
Our plan was working! Tina moved in a little closer, making mom a little
nervous, enough so that she moved on out of the crate, leaving the three
kiddies still eating. Tina, wanting to be the CENTER of the action, and
leaving me as just a SPECTATOR, reached out and grabbed the string and
pulled the gate shut. We had 'em!
We rushed up there, our "plan" being to just pick up the crate, take it to the
Lodge and put them safely in another crate. Well... it didn't exACTLY work
out that way. The first thing to happen, Tina, making it to the crate before I
did, suddenly hollers, "where'd the third one go!" She was looking all over
the place, because, sure enough, there was only two in the crate now. Okay,
Tina loses one, so that puts me one up on Tina! By the time I got there, she
had figured out how the one kitten got out. We had failed to put the plastic
pan in the crate, and the TINY slot under the door is JUST big enough for a
kitten to push through. So, here we were trying to keep the other two kittens
from doing the same thing, kind of like a hockey goalie blocking the puck
from getting past him.
So I, again, in my mind, figure I will just raise the front of the crate off the
ground, making it difficult for them to go up the incline to the door. Yeah,
that'll work; perfect plan. I lift the front of the crate up at a good, healthy
incline, upon which time one of the two remaining kittens pops through the
HUGE spaces in the wire bottom of the crate and scampers away. Okay,
Tina 1, me 1. Shoot!
With only one kitten left in that big crate, it'd be a shame to haul it up to the
lodge. So we thought it would be best if I go get a smaller crate to put the
remaining kitten in, so we can just leave the big crate where it has been
sitting for days. So I jump in the Trailblazer, zipped up to the Lodge, got a
small crate, the cat gloves and a towel. I buzz back to the scene, I take the
small crate down and sit it beside the crate containing the kitten, don the cat
gloves, grab the towel and crawl inside the crate with the kitten. Man, I was
ready for action! The kitten was in the back of the crate, and I could see its
tiny mind working, thinking of how it was going to keep me from throwing
that towel over it. Funny how squirmy a little kitten can be! Anyway, I
finally got my hands on it... after I realized a minute or two into the
operation that you can't do ANYTHING with those inch-thick cat gloves on,
so off they go.
So here I was, with my rear end facing the direction the mama cat went in,
and I was using slightly less than a death grip on this one tiny, very mad,
very LOUD, crying and squalling kitten. Realizing I was in NO position to
battle off mom IF she were to mount a rescue, I told Tina to "watch out for
the mother cat". At that instance, Tina hollered, "Here she comes!" Have you
ever heard about someone in the instant before they die, their whole life
passes before their eyes? It does, no kidding! My beautiful wife picked up a
stick and began waving it around, hollering for her to "GET BACK! And she
did! She decided NOT to kill me... for which I was very thankful.
I backed out with the kitten wrapped up in the towel and put her in the
small crate. We take her to the Lodge, slid a bowl of water and food in the
door, and left her in a safe, quiet place.
The next morning, Tina took the, as yet unnamed, kitten to Douglas Oaks
Animal Hospital to get her checked out and to get her started on her
required shots. Tina came back with the kitten, amazed at how easily they
handled her. Dr. Hobby determined that the kitten was amazingly healthy,
especially for a feral kitten... obviously because we, ahem, kept them fed and
watered!
So now little, uh, whatshername, can be found in our cat room doing
extremely well. We're spending a lot of time with her, showing her just how
good life can be.
But there's three more kittens up there, and we fully intend to get them the
same way. No, no, not with kittens squirting through holes in the crate and
all, no, we learned from our mistakes and will attempt to pull the next
attempt without a hitch.
So y'all be planning on making room in your homes and hearts for four very
special little kittens.
Now, you're thinking: 'But you're primarily DOG people! Well, if you're
going to throw words like "primarily" around, I guess you could say that,
yes, we're dog people. But we love all sorts of animals, and will go WAY
out of our way to help anything. And when it comes to kittens that need to
be saved, then they're suddenly the most important animal in the world to
me. And we won't stop until we have all four safe and sound.
And once we have them, we'll trap mom, again, and carry her to West
Georgia Spay/Neuter Clinic and make sure this never happens again.
Update for July 12th! We have two more kittens in hand! Yes, we almost
had all three of the ones left, but one zipped out as I tried to close the crate
door on them. The two new ones will visit Douglas Oaks tomorrow to begin
their shots, but let me tell you, they look great! For feral kittens, they look
awfully healthy.
We'll get that last one tomorrow... I hope.
************************************************************************************
Okay, now, if you think this is none of my business, well, just skip over this.
BUT, if you are really concerned with the food your pet eats, because, like us,
you're absolutely wild about your pet, please go along with me on this and
check things out. This is long, but please hang in there, because this
absolutely matters. To be up front, I have a major problem with someone
saying something that just isn't true - lying. And my BIG problem is with
some of the major pet food manufacturers pushing their inferior brands of
dog food on the public, and by covering over all their food's shortcomings
by saying things on their commercials, such as, "... and it's SO good for
them". Well, maybe "SO good" is a relative thing. Maybe, just maybe, they
mean by saying "SO good for them", that it's better than feeding your dogs
out of the garbage can... maybe.
Another brand (I don't remember which one, or the exact wording on their
commercials, so I am not going to try to name any names) actually claims,
with pride, that (and I paraphrase): 'More vets recommend their food than
any other grocery store brand.' Folks, being sold in a grocery store is
NOTHING to be proud of. In fact, it's something to be avoided at all costs.
When they put their foods in grocery stores, you know they've thrown in the
towel on quality, and are pushing their foods to the common pet owner...
which isn't you and I.
Let me say that everything I am about to say is MY opinion, based on
research that we have done and believe to the bottom of our hearts to be
true.
Please understand that I am not picking on, annoyed with, or mad at,
anyone, anyone except the major pet food manufacturers. We are so tired of
pet owners being conned into thinking they are feeding great food to their
pets, when in reality they are unknowingly feeding junk food to their babies.
And the best way for you to check the veracity of what I am saying, simply
read the ingredient list on your pet's food. A good meat source should be
the number one item. Remember, dogs and cats are carnivores. I want to
know exactly what kind of meat and what kind of fat is added to the food;
not just "animal fat"; "animal fat" could from anything. And "animal digest"?
I don't want my dog, your dog, or anyone's dog, to eat ANYTHING called
"animal digest". Read the ingredient list, please.
Also, please don't think that I am only saying this because we want you
buying the food we sell. To be honest, our supplier carries nearly all the
foods out there. We could feed here, and sell here, any of it: the highest of
the high dollar food, as well as the cheapest, most "grocery store-ish" of the
pet food world. The very, ultra-best, of the pet foods is, in a way, I don't
know, over-kill, I guess, in my opinion, and the cost is so way out of the
mainstream, it would probably go past the expiration date before its sold.
And, we simply aren't going to sell bad food, no matter how big the demand
is; we'll let Wal-Mart handle that market. So what we do is find good,
affordable deals on true, high quality food, the type of food that we choose
to feed our own dogs... and we're very picky about what our kids eat. We
sell here food that you can "count on", and know you're pet is getting
everything they need, and nothing they don't need. Great, high quality food
at a reasonable price is what we're about.
Rather than feed your pet what the "big guys" say is good for them on their
disgusting commercials, we want to introduce an alternative to you. Instead
of paying a lot of money for substandard dog food, complete with all it's
pretty colors and shapes, we've found a genuine, grade A dog food, one that
doesn't break the bank to buy. We're going to tell you about Taste of the
Wild. We already sell and use two of the best foods, Canidae and Natures
Select, but this food we want to tell you about today is, in fact, rated higher,
six stars, by dogfoodanalysis.com, and is one of Whole Dog Journal's
approved foods. Taste of the Wild takes pet food to the next, and highest,
level.
Tina and I think so much of it, we have started using it at the house for our
kids. And let me tell you, our dogs go crazy at meal time! We feed the High
Prairie Canine Formula with Roasted Bison and Roasted Venison, and I kid
you not, this stuff smells GREAT! And in case you've heard of "grain free"
pet foods, well, that's what Taste of the Wild is. As I say further down the
page in my rant on pet foods, dogs are carnivores: meat comes first, and you
should see NO corn, NO soy, NO sugar, NO high fructose corn syrup and
NO white rice. These are cheap fillers made to save the manufacturer money
and do nothing for your dog but possibly shorten its life.
Let's compare ingredient labels from Taste of the Wild (High Prairie Canine
Formula) to three popular dog foods, Purina Beneful, Pedigree and Hills'
Science Diet.
Purina Beneful Original formula:
INGREDIENTS
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, Vitamin E
supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin
A supplement, calcium carbonate, copper sulfate, Vitamin B-12 supplement,
calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, pyridoxine
hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione
sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate,
folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite.
Pedigree Adult Complete:
INGREDIENTS
Ground Whole Corn, Meat And Bone Meal, Ground Whole Wheat, Corn
Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (preserved With BHA and Citric Acid), Wheat Mill
Run, Chicken By-product Meal, Natural Flavor, Salt, Rice, Potassium
Chloride, Vegetable Oil (source of Linoleic Acid), Vitamins (Dl-alpha
Tocopherol Acetate [source of Vitamin E], Choline Chloride,
L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate [source of Vitamin C*], Vitamin A Supplement,
Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate,
Riboflavin Supplement [Vitamin B2], Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12
Supplement), Dried Vegetables (Peas, Carrots), Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Zinc
Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate,
Potassium Iodide), Added FD&C Colors (Red 40, Blue 2, Yellow 6, Yellow 5).
Science Diet
INGREDIENTS
Ground Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal,
Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Soybean Oil,
Chicken Liver Flavor, Flaxseed, Iodized Salt, vitamins
(L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement,
Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium
Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride,
Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Dried Chicken Cartilage,
Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, Potassium Chloride,
minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide,
Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Carnitine, preserved with Mixed
Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.
Taste of the Wild High Prairie Canine Formula:
INGREDIENTS
Bison, lamb meal, chicken meal, egg product, sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes,
canola oil, roasted bison, roasted venison, natural flavor, tomato pomace,
ocean fish meal, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes,
blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried fermentation
products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus
casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum
fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate,
copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium
iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate,
manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin,
calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine
hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin
B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
Folks, I copied these ingredient lists directly from their respective company's
websites. Go ahead and read them over very closely again. Can you believe
it?!! They don't even compare, do they? And remember, the order in which
the items are listed, is the order, by weight, they are found in the food. The
number one item on the list is the number one ingredient, by weight, found
in the food. This is why you don't see Taste of the Wild at Wal-Mart, Kroger,
or even Petsmart.
And good grief, Science Diet is pushed by SO many vets, you'd think it's the
greatest food available! But it's absolute junk! Yes, everybody speaks of
Science Diet like it's the Holy Grail of pet foods. But, you know, when
Science Diet was first formulated by a vet, it was indeed a quality food, but
that's been many years ago. But, once again, like ANYtime a huge
corporation buys a quality food, quality goes out the window. The bottom
line is all that matters to them, not your dog's health. Corn is their number 1
ingredient! Not only should meat be number 1, corn shouldn't be in there
AT all! So now Science Diet has joined the ranks of the grocery store brands,
which should be avoided completely!
But, who knows, maybe what you feed your dog DOESN'T matter! That is,
of course, what Nestly Purina and Mars (Yep, that's right: a candy company
makes Purina and Pedigree) is counting on. And maybe it DOESN'T matter
what we eat, either. You think we could live on root beer, corn chips and
Twinkies three meals a day for a lifetime? Nope, I don't think so, either. So
now after reading these ingredient lists, I hope this makes you concerned, at
least somewhat, with what your dog eats. After all, you do love your dog,
don't you? You do know he/she is counting on YOU to make good,
well-informed choices for their health, don't you?
Now to carry this a little further, here are some things you should look for in
a quality dog food:
1. A named animal protein should be #1 on the list.
2. Whole fruits, grains and vegetables.
3. A named animal fat source.
Things you should avoid (which are also things they put in their food to
"bulk it up", but will hold their costs down):
1. By-products. (Every dog wants a steaming bowl of by-products.)
2. Sweeteners (They flatout aren't needed. Oh yes, dogs love it!).
3. Artificial coloring (A useless chemical meant to please your eye).
4. Artificial preservatives instead of natural preservatives.
I know one of the, no, THE largest pet food company's commercial shows
how if you feed their most popular dog food brand to your pet, it will live
longer. Well, probably what they DON'T say is: if you feed your dog the
AMOUNT of food it SHOULD get per meal - which few do - it most
definitely has a better chance to live longer. But who knows, maybe it
DOESN'T matter what you feed your dog! Maybe there's somewhere written
in an individual dog's DNA that it is predetermined to live, say, 4000 days,
eating dirt, poop and roofing shingles and drinking from mud puddles
every single day of its life. Do you believe that? Nah, me either. I believe
that I am my dog's protector, his hero, his best friend, and I will do my level
best to help him live the happiest, healthiest, longest life I possibly can. I
WILL not listen to the advice of ANYone - a candy company who makes dog
food; a big, huge Wall Street darling who is trying to hold costs down by
making cheap foods to bring their shareholders more value; the vet; the next
door neighbor; anyone, without ME first doing the research it takes to make
an intelligent decision. That is why I choose to feed a high quality food, one
where the manufacturer doesn't show, I don't know, pork chops, butter beans
and broccoli on the front of the bag, knowing full well that it doesn't contain
those items.
And consider this: With lower quality foods, you have to feed a washtub
full to equal the nutrients in a smaller portion of high quality foods, such as,
Taste of the Wild. And smaller portions means you buy less food! There's
your savings right there! So you're buying less, and, yep, you'll be shoveling
less, too - less food in, less poop out... which is kind of nice.
So, if you would like to move your dog up to a six star food, but not have to
hock your gold jewelry to pay for it, come in and try one of our small bags of
Taste of the Wild. Do it and you will never go back to grocery store brands
again. Remember to cut down on portion size, or you will notice your dog's
weight going up. Remember: feeding the proper amount keeps your dog
around much longer, and allows it to live a better life while they are with us.
My intention wasn't to insult anyone with this article. But sometimes the
truth must be told. Because, believe me, the big guys are just trying to make
money off of you. Tina and I don't mark it up enough to even be considered
as trying to rob anyone. We love our dogs, we love your dogs; we want
them to be around for a long, long time.
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Tina and I have been very appreciative of all our great customers helping us
bring in new customers by telling their friends about us. Without doing any
real advertising, our number of customers has grown amazingly. So, while
talking the other day, Tina and I came up with the idea of a referral incentive
of a free night's boarding for one dog with every new customer's paid
boarding visit. That means, if you send 100 new customers to us, and all 100
new customers board their pet(s) with us, you will have 100 free nights of
boarding for one dog. Now, this is dependant on the person you refer to us
telling us that they were sent by you.
************************************************************************************
Do you wonder how Beechwood Trails began? We have been asked
numerous times, so I thought I would give you a short explanation. Trust
me, I could talk for a day or two on how it all happened, but, amazingly, I
kept it short. How It Began
************************************************************************************
Pet nutrition is SO important. Not only what's good nutrition, but
identifying what's bad. What should be stayed far and clear of is as
important as what you should, after paying attention to the ingredient list,
feed your pets. PLEASE pay attention to that ingredient list!!! That is your
only way of knowing what goes in your pet's stomach. Pay NO attention to
what commercials on TV, radio or in print, say. Pay NO attention to what
your neighbor feeds their pet, what your vet says to feed your pet, or what I
say to feed your pet. ONLY pay attention to what that ingredient list says.
Now, if, after understanding what goes into your pet's food by reading that
ingredient list, you decide that Brand A is what you should feed your pet,
and then you hear on the news that they lied, it's being recalled, and really
you've been feeding your pet saw dust and corn chips, then you've got a
legal beef with that pet food company. But if that rare instance happens, you
still made your choice on good, clear and rational knowledge. To keep that
from happening, you need to listen to folks who make it their business to
give good, precise information: enter the Whole Dog Journal. These folks
rate pet foods, letting you know what's good, what's not so good and what's
bad. If your pet's dry food ingredient list begins with corn or any other
grain, you are feeding your pet a grain based diet. If your pet's canned food
ingredient list begins with water, you are feeding your pet mainly water.
Neither of these scenarios are good. Dogs and cats are carnivores. The
number one thing on the ingredient list should be meat! Throw in some
good, healthy and beneficial whole grains (corn shouldn't be seen) and
some vegetables, and the pet probably won't mind you sneaking them in.
Just don't tell them it's in there, cause dogs want meat! We're not just trying
to sell Canidae and Nature's Select and Taste of the Wild pet foods; it's one
of several high quality foods on the market. But PLEASE feed your pet one
of them, after you've determined that what you do feed is junk food. How
can a pet owner know which ones are good? Subscribe to the Whole Dog
Journal, or drop by here and read ours.
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Important News!
Friends, we are so very fortunate to have Carroll County Humane Society's
West Georgia Spay Neuter Clinic just a few miles away in Villa Rica!
Offering low cost spay neuter is a great way to battle runaway pet
overpopulation. Not only is this for folks who, because of the cost of doing
so, would avoid spaying and neutering their pets, but it's a wonderful place
for all of us to save a buck.
We need West Georgia Spay Neuter Clinic to stay in business, so please take
full advantage of their terrific prices! Please call them and schedule having
your pet spayed and neutered. Too, if you know someone who can't/won't
have their pets "fixed", and they are constantly having litters they need to
find homes for, give them a much needed gift of a "fixing". You'll not only
help your neighbor, but you will do wonders for your neighborhood. Call
678-840-8072 or go to www.westgeorgiaspayneuter.com
You wouldn't believe how many people have come in to take a tour of the
Lodge, and tell us about having used West Georgia Spay Neuter, and are SO
complementary! We knew this was a great idea, and we're so glad Carroll
County has done such a bang-up job, and made something we can all be
proud of and use.
are good with any situation, happy no matter what's thrown at them? Then,
and perhaps you've owned them, puppies or dogs who are scared of their
own shadow, and when thrust into, say, having to be boarded, or a trip to the
vet, the dog just gets in a corner and shivers? You know, in most cases there
is something you can do about that, or could have been done at an earlier
age. It's not something that, in most instances, is inborn in that dog. It's
something learned, or rather a failure to teach them, as puppies, to gladly
accept new things. Now, there are certain breeds who are naturally cautious,
making it much more likely a puppy of that breed will have a certain degree
of a standoffish personality. Confidence is what you want to see in a dog.
The dog will be happier; you'll be happier; and if stress is as I believe, a
killer, your dog will live a longer, healthier life. After all, we all want our
dog to be happy, don't we? And a frightened, nervous dog is not the
epitome of happy.
The key to a confident dog is to socialize them well as a puppy. I know,
what with viruses like parvo and distemper out there, one has to be careful
where you take a puppy before his immune system has a chance to fully
develop, but there are things you can safely do while they're young. You
can invite friends and family over to play with the puppy and show it that a
visitor is definitely a great thing! One of the best things you could do is take
it to a well-qualified puppy class. I don't mean just ANY puppy class,
either. I mean one instructed by an absolute, positive reinforcement
trainer/instructor, someone who has been doing it for years. Some trainers
claim to be positive, but then turn around and give leash corrections, or even
drag the reluctant puppy by its collar to center stage to demonstrate
something with them. That's NOT positive; it's not acceptable; and should
never be used to develop a puppies love for people. If you are uncertain or
have any question about just what makes a sure enough positive trainer,
please call or drop by and ask us. As you know, Tina and I are extremely
positive in our interactions with dogs. We believe a dog brought up with a
kind hand will go a long way toward turning that little puppy into the kind
of dog you will love forever and proudly take everywhere.
We're concerned about this because we love to see happy dogs. Happy
dogs come here and can begin having fun right from the start. Scared dogs,
however, come in and it takes them sometimes days before the idea that Tina
and I are good guys and we're here for their enjoyment clicks in their heads.
We see it over and over, and just wish that dog could have known all along
that we're their friend and wouldn't do anything to harm them. It makes us
feel very bad for them. We sit quietly with them in their runs, just to let
them get used to us. And you can see it in their eyes when it hits them that,
hey, I LIKE these guys! Wouldn't it have been great if they could have come
through the front door with that attitude? It can happen, I promise.
If you have a young puppy, one that is old enough to have had all its puppy
shots, please think about bringing them to us to board, say, just for the day
or a weekend. Or, shoot, just bring them by for a few minutes, just to let
them meet new dog lovers. It needs to believe that the outside world is
something to enjoy, not to be feared. Get them started young! We board
dogs that have been coming to us since they were sixteen weeks old, and
they come flying through the front door and jump all over us! Man, it just
makes my heart feel great to know that Tina and I played a big part in
building that dog's confidence. And don't forget puppy classes. We know
some of the best puppy trainers in the business. Get that puppy enjoying
life, no matter where it finds itself, and you and it will have a GREAT
relationship.
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Coming up, there will be some changes around here. No, no, nothing that
will affect you or your pets, but it will be with our involvement in the
conservation of the New Guinea singing dog (NGSD). We have owned one,
Jingle, and have been members of the New Guinea Singing Dog
Conservation Society since the summer of 2006. But since Jingle was chosen
by the Society to be bred this year, we have decided to jump in with both
feet working in the conservation of these dogs, a dog that is known as a
living fossil. New Guinea singing dogs are known to be the oldest, and
rarest, pure bred dog in the world. Now, when I say "pure bred", I don't
mean that they were bred by people trying to achieve a certain look, or to
accomplish a certain task; no, they have been on this planet for some fifteen
thousand years, and are the result of being a naturally evolved animal,
isolated on the island of New Guinea. Anyway, click here to read more
about what is happening in our little corner of the singing dog universe, and
once the puppies come, make sure you check back often during the next few
months for lots of pictures and tales of what raising what could be the cutest
little furballs in the world. And, if you want to meet one happy little, very
outgoing singing dog, come by and meet our Murray. After meeting him,
you may get the idea you would like to own a singing dog. And, shoot, you
may just have the perfect home to be involved with their conservation, but
it's more likely that you don't. They're not for everybody. In fact, you've got
to be a little strange... you know?
As an update, we picked Hagen, the New Guinea singing dog from the
Exmoor Zoo in the U.K., at Atlanta Airport the morning of August 7th. And
let me tell you, if you ever decide to import an animal, especially an exotic
animal, come talk to me first. It's a headache! Check out our singing dog
page for pictures of Hagen!
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Beginning April 1st, 2010, Tina and I became more active in rescuing cats,
specifically, a litter of feral kittens born in a stack of pine straw bales under
the porch on our house. Attention to their arrival was brought to us by our
dogs. The nest the kittens were born in was only about two feet on the other
side of a wood privacy fence surrounding our backyard, where our dogs go
outside. We noticed they were spending much of their time outside glued
to the wood fence, sniffing as though there was something mighty tasty on
the other side.
After a day or so of this, I walked around to the pine straw stack under our
porch to see just what it was that had our dogs so excited. As I approached
the pine straw, expecting to find a opossum or something, a cat came
hauling out, making all sorts of hissing and growling noises - I definitely
had her upset with my presence.
As she hurried on out of sight, I walked over and began pulling off pine
straw bales, trying to find out what was going on. After I removed the
second bale, I noticed a nest full of tiny kittens. Oh, great... We had noticed
this same mother cat hanging around the house for months, but we definitely
hadn't noticed her being pregnant.
So we began talking to some friends we know who are heavily involved in
cat rescue, and they all advised us to wait until the kittens were four weeks
old, at which time they would be old enough to safely remove from the
mother.
So we began feeding mom, making sure she was getting a healthy diet on
which to nurse her babies. Time rocked on, and we did our best to keep our
dogs from annoying the mom from just on the other side of the wood fence
she had built her nest. Using April 1st as the birth day, we counted off four
weeks. On that day, we set a trap and caught the mother cat, then rushed
over to take the kittens out of the nest. With the mother safely in a trap, we
were going to hold her overnight, then take her to West Georgia
Spay/Neuter Clinic in Villa Rica to have her "fixed", so this wouldn't happen
again, and again...
I went to the pine straw stack and began uncovering her nest only to find that
she had moved her kittens some time during the previous day or two. So
that meant there were kittens still highly dependent on mom somewhere.
That also meant that we had to release mom, so that she could continue
taking care of the kids, and hope for a chance to catch them in the days and
weeks ahead. I walked up to our carport, got the trap containing one very
upset cat, opened the gate and watched a cat go from 0 - 60 in about two
seconds. In the back of my mind I was just very happy she didn't decide to
come out wanting to teach me a lesson for trapping her!
We had no idea where the kittens were, but we continued to leave food out
so that mom could eat if she so desired. And she did! We would see her
every day as we would come home for lunch, waiting on Tina to set her feast
out on the pine straw bales. This went on for days and days. We suspected
that she had stashed the kids among all the downed trees to the right of our
driveway as you turn in, that we had piled there after the Mothers Day
tornado of 2008. But we knew, if they were there, there was no way we
would be able to get them. They were too small and fragile to try to catch in
the live trap, so the best we could do is just keep feeding mom, hoping to
give them the best chance possible at growing up healthy.
Four weeks had passed since the day we had trapped mom and tried to get
the kittens, so that put them awfully close to eight weeks old. While cutting
grass at our driveway entrance, I looked over to my left and saw a little,
white face looking at me. I looked closer, and atop that pile of downed trees
I saw two faces, then three. I immediately called Tina, here at the Lodge and
told her I had found the kittens!
Starting that day, we began leaving food as closely as we could to where I'd
seen them. Something was indeed eating it every day, and it didn't take long
before we began seeing them every day waiting on us to leave food for them.
So it became a daily thing to stop and leave fresh food and water for the
kids as we'd leave the Lodge for lunch.
We had to come up with a plan to try to catch them. We knew that those
kittens growing up as feral cats would likely live a short, very tough life,
possibly becoming a snack for some wild animal or neighborhood dog.
Again, knowing it probably wasn't safe to use the live trap on them, a vet
friend of ours, Dr. Linda Baxter at Lakeview Animal Hospital in Carrollton,
suggested we set up a dog crate and begin leaving their daily meal in the
crate. Then once we had them comfortably inside the crate happily eating,
with a string tied to the gate, we would pull the gate shut. Now this was the
plan, and on the drawing board, it was indeed a brilliant plan! But, when
you add the human factor (Tina and I), brilliant plans can go insanely awry.
Yep, with kitties... well, three of the four, and mom too, inside and scarfing
down the food, and with me standing at the end of the string about forty feet
away, and with Tina standing only about fifteen or twenty feet away, Tina
moved in a little closer to try to spook the mom out. See, as best as we had it
figured... in our minds, at least, mom being in the crate would only make
things more difficult.
Now let me let you peek into our minds so you will know the "logic" that
went into our planning. With mom moved out of the crate before we "pull
the trigger", she will be safely hiding somewhere WAY away from the
action... and everybody lives happily ever after. WRONG!
Our plan was working! Tina moved in a little closer, making mom a little
nervous, enough so that she moved on out of the crate, leaving the three
kiddies still eating. Tina, wanting to be the CENTER of the action, and
leaving me as just a SPECTATOR, reached out and grabbed the string and
pulled the gate shut. We had 'em!
We rushed up there, our "plan" being to just pick up the crate, take it to the
Lodge and put them safely in another crate. Well... it didn't exACTLY work
out that way. The first thing to happen, Tina, making it to the crate before I
did, suddenly hollers, "where'd the third one go!" She was looking all over
the place, because, sure enough, there was only two in the crate now. Okay,
Tina loses one, so that puts me one up on Tina! By the time I got there, she
had figured out how the one kitten got out. We had failed to put the plastic
pan in the crate, and the TINY slot under the door is JUST big enough for a
kitten to push through. So, here we were trying to keep the other two kittens
from doing the same thing, kind of like a hockey goalie blocking the puck
from getting past him.
So I, again, in my mind, figure I will just raise the front of the crate off the
ground, making it difficult for them to go up the incline to the door. Yeah,
that'll work; perfect plan. I lift the front of the crate up at a good, healthy
incline, upon which time one of the two remaining kittens pops through the
HUGE spaces in the wire bottom of the crate and scampers away. Okay,
Tina 1, me 1. Shoot!
With only one kitten left in that big crate, it'd be a shame to haul it up to the
lodge. So we thought it would be best if I go get a smaller crate to put the
remaining kitten in, so we can just leave the big crate where it has been
sitting for days. So I jump in the Trailblazer, zipped up to the Lodge, got a
small crate, the cat gloves and a towel. I buzz back to the scene, I take the
small crate down and sit it beside the crate containing the kitten, don the cat
gloves, grab the towel and crawl inside the crate with the kitten. Man, I was
ready for action! The kitten was in the back of the crate, and I could see its
tiny mind working, thinking of how it was going to keep me from throwing
that towel over it. Funny how squirmy a little kitten can be! Anyway, I
finally got my hands on it... after I realized a minute or two into the
operation that you can't do ANYTHING with those inch-thick cat gloves on,
so off they go.
So here I was, with my rear end facing the direction the mama cat went in,
and I was using slightly less than a death grip on this one tiny, very mad,
very LOUD, crying and squalling kitten. Realizing I was in NO position to
battle off mom IF she were to mount a rescue, I told Tina to "watch out for
the mother cat". At that instance, Tina hollered, "Here she comes!" Have you
ever heard about someone in the instant before they die, their whole life
passes before their eyes? It does, no kidding! My beautiful wife picked up a
stick and began waving it around, hollering for her to "GET BACK! And she
did! She decided NOT to kill me... for which I was very thankful.
I backed out with the kitten wrapped up in the towel and put her in the
small crate. We take her to the Lodge, slid a bowl of water and food in the
door, and left her in a safe, quiet place.
The next morning, Tina took the, as yet unnamed, kitten to Douglas Oaks
Animal Hospital to get her checked out and to get her started on her
required shots. Tina came back with the kitten, amazed at how easily they
handled her. Dr. Hobby determined that the kitten was amazingly healthy,
especially for a feral kitten... obviously because we, ahem, kept them fed and
watered!
So now little, uh, whatshername, can be found in our cat room doing
extremely well. We're spending a lot of time with her, showing her just how
good life can be.
But there's three more kittens up there, and we fully intend to get them the
same way. No, no, not with kittens squirting through holes in the crate and
all, no, we learned from our mistakes and will attempt to pull the next
attempt without a hitch.
So y'all be planning on making room in your homes and hearts for four very
special little kittens.
Now, you're thinking: 'But you're primarily DOG people! Well, if you're
going to throw words like "primarily" around, I guess you could say that,
yes, we're dog people. But we love all sorts of animals, and will go WAY
out of our way to help anything. And when it comes to kittens that need to
be saved, then they're suddenly the most important animal in the world to
me. And we won't stop until we have all four safe and sound.
And once we have them, we'll trap mom, again, and carry her to West
Georgia Spay/Neuter Clinic and make sure this never happens again.
Update for July 12th! We have two more kittens in hand! Yes, we almost
had all three of the ones left, but one zipped out as I tried to close the crate
door on them. The two new ones will visit Douglas Oaks tomorrow to begin
their shots, but let me tell you, they look great! For feral kittens, they look
awfully healthy.
We'll get that last one tomorrow... I hope.
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Okay, now, if you think this is none of my business, well, just skip over this.
BUT, if you are really concerned with the food your pet eats, because, like us,
you're absolutely wild about your pet, please go along with me on this and
check things out. This is long, but please hang in there, because this
absolutely matters. To be up front, I have a major problem with someone
saying something that just isn't true - lying. And my BIG problem is with
some of the major pet food manufacturers pushing their inferior brands of
dog food on the public, and by covering over all their food's shortcomings
by saying things on their commercials, such as, "... and it's SO good for
them". Well, maybe "SO good" is a relative thing. Maybe, just maybe, they
mean by saying "SO good for them", that it's better than feeding your dogs
out of the garbage can... maybe.
Another brand (I don't remember which one, or the exact wording on their
commercials, so I am not going to try to name any names) actually claims,
with pride, that (and I paraphrase): 'More vets recommend their food than
any other grocery store brand.' Folks, being sold in a grocery store is
NOTHING to be proud of. In fact, it's something to be avoided at all costs.
When they put their foods in grocery stores, you know they've thrown in the
towel on quality, and are pushing their foods to the common pet owner...
which isn't you and I.
Let me say that everything I am about to say is MY opinion, based on
research that we have done and believe to the bottom of our hearts to be
true.
Please understand that I am not picking on, annoyed with, or mad at,
anyone, anyone except the major pet food manufacturers. We are so tired of
pet owners being conned into thinking they are feeding great food to their
pets, when in reality they are unknowingly feeding junk food to their babies.
And the best way for you to check the veracity of what I am saying, simply
read the ingredient list on your pet's food. A good meat source should be
the number one item. Remember, dogs and cats are carnivores. I want to
know exactly what kind of meat and what kind of fat is added to the food;
not just "animal fat"; "animal fat" could from anything. And "animal digest"?
I don't want my dog, your dog, or anyone's dog, to eat ANYTHING called
"animal digest". Read the ingredient list, please.
Also, please don't think that I am only saying this because we want you
buying the food we sell. To be honest, our supplier carries nearly all the
foods out there. We could feed here, and sell here, any of it: the highest of
the high dollar food, as well as the cheapest, most "grocery store-ish" of the
pet food world. The very, ultra-best, of the pet foods is, in a way, I don't
know, over-kill, I guess, in my opinion, and the cost is so way out of the
mainstream, it would probably go past the expiration date before its sold.
And, we simply aren't going to sell bad food, no matter how big the demand
is; we'll let Wal-Mart handle that market. So what we do is find good,
affordable deals on true, high quality food, the type of food that we choose
to feed our own dogs... and we're very picky about what our kids eat. We
sell here food that you can "count on", and know you're pet is getting
everything they need, and nothing they don't need. Great, high quality food
at a reasonable price is what we're about.
Rather than feed your pet what the "big guys" say is good for them on their
disgusting commercials, we want to introduce an alternative to you. Instead
of paying a lot of money for substandard dog food, complete with all it's
pretty colors and shapes, we've found a genuine, grade A dog food, one that
doesn't break the bank to buy. We're going to tell you about Taste of the
Wild. We already sell and use two of the best foods, Canidae and Natures
Select, but this food we want to tell you about today is, in fact, rated higher,
six stars, by dogfoodanalysis.com, and is one of Whole Dog Journal's
approved foods. Taste of the Wild takes pet food to the next, and highest,
level.
Tina and I think so much of it, we have started using it at the house for our
kids. And let me tell you, our dogs go crazy at meal time! We feed the High
Prairie Canine Formula with Roasted Bison and Roasted Venison, and I kid
you not, this stuff smells GREAT! And in case you've heard of "grain free"
pet foods, well, that's what Taste of the Wild is. As I say further down the
page in my rant on pet foods, dogs are carnivores: meat comes first, and you
should see NO corn, NO soy, NO sugar, NO high fructose corn syrup and
NO white rice. These are cheap fillers made to save the manufacturer money
and do nothing for your dog but possibly shorten its life.
Let's compare ingredient labels from Taste of the Wild (High Prairie Canine
Formula) to three popular dog foods, Purina Beneful, Pedigree and Hills'
Science Diet.
Purina Beneful Original formula:
INGREDIENTS
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, Vitamin E
supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin
A supplement, calcium carbonate, copper sulfate, Vitamin B-12 supplement,
calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, pyridoxine
hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione
sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate,
folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite.
Pedigree Adult Complete:
INGREDIENTS
Ground Whole Corn, Meat And Bone Meal, Ground Whole Wheat, Corn
Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (preserved With BHA and Citric Acid), Wheat Mill
Run, Chicken By-product Meal, Natural Flavor, Salt, Rice, Potassium
Chloride, Vegetable Oil (source of Linoleic Acid), Vitamins (Dl-alpha
Tocopherol Acetate [source of Vitamin E], Choline Chloride,
L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate [source of Vitamin C*], Vitamin A Supplement,
Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate,
Riboflavin Supplement [Vitamin B2], Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12
Supplement), Dried Vegetables (Peas, Carrots), Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Zinc
Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate,
Potassium Iodide), Added FD&C Colors (Red 40, Blue 2, Yellow 6, Yellow 5).
Science Diet
INGREDIENTS
Ground Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal,
Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Soybean Oil,
Chicken Liver Flavor, Flaxseed, Iodized Salt, vitamins
(L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement,
Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium
Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride,
Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Dried Chicken Cartilage,
Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, Potassium Chloride,
minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide,
Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Carnitine, preserved with Mixed
Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.
Taste of the Wild High Prairie Canine Formula:
INGREDIENTS
Bison, lamb meal, chicken meal, egg product, sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes,
canola oil, roasted bison, roasted venison, natural flavor, tomato pomace,
ocean fish meal, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes,
blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried fermentation
products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus
casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum
fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate,
copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium
iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate,
manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin,
calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine
hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin
B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
Folks, I copied these ingredient lists directly from their respective company's
websites. Go ahead and read them over very closely again. Can you believe
it?!! They don't even compare, do they? And remember, the order in which
the items are listed, is the order, by weight, they are found in the food. The
number one item on the list is the number one ingredient, by weight, found
in the food. This is why you don't see Taste of the Wild at Wal-Mart, Kroger,
or even Petsmart.
And good grief, Science Diet is pushed by SO many vets, you'd think it's the
greatest food available! But it's absolute junk! Yes, everybody speaks of
Science Diet like it's the Holy Grail of pet foods. But, you know, when
Science Diet was first formulated by a vet, it was indeed a quality food, but
that's been many years ago. But, once again, like ANYtime a huge
corporation buys a quality food, quality goes out the window. The bottom
line is all that matters to them, not your dog's health. Corn is their number 1
ingredient! Not only should meat be number 1, corn shouldn't be in there
AT all! So now Science Diet has joined the ranks of the grocery store brands,
which should be avoided completely!
But, who knows, maybe what you feed your dog DOESN'T matter! That is,
of course, what Nestly Purina and Mars (Yep, that's right: a candy company
makes Purina and Pedigree) is counting on. And maybe it DOESN'T matter
what we eat, either. You think we could live on root beer, corn chips and
Twinkies three meals a day for a lifetime? Nope, I don't think so, either. So
now after reading these ingredient lists, I hope this makes you concerned, at
least somewhat, with what your dog eats. After all, you do love your dog,
don't you? You do know he/she is counting on YOU to make good,
well-informed choices for their health, don't you?
Now to carry this a little further, here are some things you should look for in
a quality dog food:
1. A named animal protein should be #1 on the list.
2. Whole fruits, grains and vegetables.
3. A named animal fat source.
Things you should avoid (which are also things they put in their food to
"bulk it up", but will hold their costs down):
1. By-products. (Every dog wants a steaming bowl of by-products.)
2. Sweeteners (They flatout aren't needed. Oh yes, dogs love it!).
3. Artificial coloring (A useless chemical meant to please your eye).
4. Artificial preservatives instead of natural preservatives.
I know one of the, no, THE largest pet food company's commercial shows
how if you feed their most popular dog food brand to your pet, it will live
longer. Well, probably what they DON'T say is: if you feed your dog the
AMOUNT of food it SHOULD get per meal - which few do - it most
definitely has a better chance to live longer. But who knows, maybe it
DOESN'T matter what you feed your dog! Maybe there's somewhere written
in an individual dog's DNA that it is predetermined to live, say, 4000 days,
eating dirt, poop and roofing shingles and drinking from mud puddles
every single day of its life. Do you believe that? Nah, me either. I believe
that I am my dog's protector, his hero, his best friend, and I will do my level
best to help him live the happiest, healthiest, longest life I possibly can. I
WILL not listen to the advice of ANYone - a candy company who makes dog
food; a big, huge Wall Street darling who is trying to hold costs down by
making cheap foods to bring their shareholders more value; the vet; the next
door neighbor; anyone, without ME first doing the research it takes to make
an intelligent decision. That is why I choose to feed a high quality food, one
where the manufacturer doesn't show, I don't know, pork chops, butter beans
and broccoli on the front of the bag, knowing full well that it doesn't contain
those items.
And consider this: With lower quality foods, you have to feed a washtub
full to equal the nutrients in a smaller portion of high quality foods, such as,
Taste of the Wild. And smaller portions means you buy less food! There's
your savings right there! So you're buying less, and, yep, you'll be shoveling
less, too - less food in, less poop out... which is kind of nice.
So, if you would like to move your dog up to a six star food, but not have to
hock your gold jewelry to pay for it, come in and try one of our small bags of
Taste of the Wild. Do it and you will never go back to grocery store brands
again. Remember to cut down on portion size, or you will notice your dog's
weight going up. Remember: feeding the proper amount keeps your dog
around much longer, and allows it to live a better life while they are with us.
My intention wasn't to insult anyone with this article. But sometimes the
truth must be told. Because, believe me, the big guys are just trying to make
money off of you. Tina and I don't mark it up enough to even be considered
as trying to rob anyone. We love our dogs, we love your dogs; we want
them to be around for a long, long time.
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Tina and I have been very appreciative of all our great customers helping us
bring in new customers by telling their friends about us. Without doing any
real advertising, our number of customers has grown amazingly. So, while
talking the other day, Tina and I came up with the idea of a referral incentive
of a free night's boarding for one dog with every new customer's paid
boarding visit. That means, if you send 100 new customers to us, and all 100
new customers board their pet(s) with us, you will have 100 free nights of
boarding for one dog. Now, this is dependant on the person you refer to us
telling us that they were sent by you.
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Do you wonder how Beechwood Trails began? We have been asked
numerous times, so I thought I would give you a short explanation. Trust
me, I could talk for a day or two on how it all happened, but, amazingly, I
kept it short. How It Began
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Pet nutrition is SO important. Not only what's good nutrition, but
identifying what's bad. What should be stayed far and clear of is as
important as what you should, after paying attention to the ingredient list,
feed your pets. PLEASE pay attention to that ingredient list!!! That is your
only way of knowing what goes in your pet's stomach. Pay NO attention to
what commercials on TV, radio or in print, say. Pay NO attention to what
your neighbor feeds their pet, what your vet says to feed your pet, or what I
say to feed your pet. ONLY pay attention to what that ingredient list says.
Now, if, after understanding what goes into your pet's food by reading that
ingredient list, you decide that Brand A is what you should feed your pet,
and then you hear on the news that they lied, it's being recalled, and really
you've been feeding your pet saw dust and corn chips, then you've got a
legal beef with that pet food company. But if that rare instance happens, you
still made your choice on good, clear and rational knowledge. To keep that
from happening, you need to listen to folks who make it their business to
give good, precise information: enter the Whole Dog Journal. These folks
rate pet foods, letting you know what's good, what's not so good and what's
bad. If your pet's dry food ingredient list begins with corn or any other
grain, you are feeding your pet a grain based diet. If your pet's canned food
ingredient list begins with water, you are feeding your pet mainly water.
Neither of these scenarios are good. Dogs and cats are carnivores. The
number one thing on the ingredient list should be meat! Throw in some
good, healthy and beneficial whole grains (corn shouldn't be seen) and
some vegetables, and the pet probably won't mind you sneaking them in.
Just don't tell them it's in there, cause dogs want meat! We're not just trying
to sell Canidae and Nature's Select and Taste of the Wild pet foods; it's one
of several high quality foods on the market. But PLEASE feed your pet one
of them, after you've determined that what you do feed is junk food. How
can a pet owner know which ones are good? Subscribe to the Whole Dog
Journal, or drop by here and read ours.
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Important News!
Friends, we are so very fortunate to have Carroll County Humane Society's
West Georgia Spay Neuter Clinic just a few miles away in Villa Rica!
Offering low cost spay neuter is a great way to battle runaway pet
overpopulation. Not only is this for folks who, because of the cost of doing
so, would avoid spaying and neutering their pets, but it's a wonderful place
for all of us to save a buck.
We need West Georgia Spay Neuter Clinic to stay in business, so please take
full advantage of their terrific prices! Please call them and schedule having
your pet spayed and neutered. Too, if you know someone who can't/won't
have their pets "fixed", and they are constantly having litters they need to
find homes for, give them a much needed gift of a "fixing". You'll not only
help your neighbor, but you will do wonders for your neighborhood. Call
678-840-8072 or go to www.westgeorgiaspayneuter.com
You wouldn't believe how many people have come in to take a tour of the
Lodge, and tell us about having used West Georgia Spay Neuter, and are SO
complementary! We knew this was a great idea, and we're so glad Carroll
County has done such a bang-up job, and made something we can all be
proud of and use.