The News At Home
One of our neighbors has an overturned flowerpot in the backyard. It’s been there for at least one month and our dogs are in our yard at least six times daily so it’s not as if the flowerpot is a new thing - unless you’re Cassie.

Having suddenly noticed the flowerpot, she warned the entire neighborhood that we were under attack. When barking didn’t seem to draw any interest from the troops and most especially not her older sister Zoey, she decided to fight the enemy on her own. With typical body posture of head lowered to be in line with her body and tail thrown daringly over her back, she kicked her back paws with menace and growled. Except that Cassie doesn’t really know ho to growl. Her cheeks puff like a blowfish and she makes a soft whoosh sound that I doubt would threaten another dog much less the flowerpot.

Although the flowerpot didn’t react, Cassie seemed to feel that her job had been done and came back indoors. However, the darn pot refuses to go away and we’re now on day eight (and counting) of the blowfish act from a little Cavalier that just can’t seem to get over the challenge this presents.

What’s New at monicasegal.com
Our New Seminar CDs Home Fed Working Dogs: Conversations with Minnesota

Introducing our recent Minnesota Seminar on a new 4-disc audio CD set! If you could never travel to be at one of my seminars, you can now join my conversations with a Minnesota audience as they discuss their own concerns about raw and cooked diets, balancing a diet, supplements and a variety of needs for the working dog. The information at every seminar is geared toward the needs of participants and this gathering was unique in many ways.

Recorded on (4) CDs, this Seminar is geared towards people with agility dogs or other work-related lifestyles. These conversations also included specific discussions about older dogs, cancer and allergies.

You can also hear samples of the seminar posted on the Seminar's product page.

If distance kept you away, now is your chance to listen in and learn from the experience of others. This 4-CD set is being offered at an introductory price of $27.99.

As an additional benefit, sales of these CDs help to support the Flat Coated Retriever Cancer Research Project.

Myth of The Month

All Probiotics Are Good.

This isn’t always the case. Remember that not only is this a fairly recent area of study but that so many of us look at studies based on the human population and assume the result would apply to dogs. In fact, it can be risky to interpret things that way. Just as we know that dogs are a different species with their own unique requirements, we need to consider that their reactions may be quite different from their human owners. Case in point is the probiotic E. faecium. Some studies show that it actually increased the levels of salmonella and campylobacter in healthy dogs – not a good thing. Read labels and consider that your dog is a dog, not a person, before adding what should be good stuff in to the food bowl.

Our health section lists a study that covers this topic: PubMed Abstract PMID: 12903867. along with other relevant canine studies. This abstract is also posted in the files seciton of the K9Kitchen discussion group.

The study's full title, by the way, is The effect of a probiotic Enterococcus faecium product in diets of healthy dogs on bacteriological counts of Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp. and Clostridium spp. in faeces

Allergy Tip of The Month

Spring brings flowers and greenery – just what we’ve all been waiting for. However, it also brings pollen and anyone with allergies is likely to be suffering. This includes your dog. Believe it or not there may a connection to food here.

There can be cross-reactivity of food allergens and pollen. For instance, if affected by birch pollen, there’s a good chance that apples, stone fruits, nuts, soy, celery, carrots, strawberry and zucchini will also trigger a reaction. Peaches, pears, tomatoes, apples, oranges and melons may be a problem if an allergy to grass exists. Ragweed allergies may also include an allergy to watermelon, melon, banana and cucumber.

Will your dog be better of if s/he does not consume these foods? You can’t know until you try eliminating them from the diet for at least eight weeks. However, during warmer weather, most of us tend to give some fresh fruit and veggie treats more often so the message here is - Consider the allergy connection before feeding.

Monica

Puppies are nature's remedy for feeling unloved...plus numerous other aliments of life.
-- Richard Allan Palm