Hi, My name is Elza and I am a Holistic Dog. My human and I will be bringing you great info on what are the best Natural Holistic Products  for your dog.

I will also add my personal comments on the natural treats I eat, since I am very special and my human can’t resist spoiling me!!!   I think it is my pretty face.

Keep checking back. I noticed a package was just delivered and it smells like there’s something good inside.

Elza

"Starch is the fundamental problem is all kibble pet foods. "Epigen" is the first kibble pet food absent of this unnatural (to carnivorous pets) sugar source (starch is simply a polysugar). Grain free products have merely replaced grain with other, less healthy starches such as potatoes, peas, and tapioca. This solves nothing. It only creates a perception of benefit that, according to scientific studies, is not true. Starch is starch, whether it’s from potatoes and tapioca, or corn and wheat.

Starch-free Epigen represents a true first, and is an honest, natural, and healthy product. Grain free diets are marketed as "new", "more natural" "more wild", "just like raw" and "more meat". All such claims are false and misleading.

Starch-free Epigen replaces the starch ingredients with proteins (the carnivore’s main requirement) and a wide spectrum of essential nutrients. Grain free products are not only laden with starches, they are nutritionally inferior. Moreover, studies have shown that by replacing grain starches with other forms. beneficial probiotics are decreased and pathogenic bacteria are increased.

Grain free products have only been falsely promoted as more akin to what dogs and cats would eat in the wild. Grain free diets have no science behind them and solve no health problems because they contain the same problematic starch that has been in all pet foods since the beginning. They do, however, create an illusion of benefit and uniqueness, but that only justifies an inflated price. What has driven grain free is marketing industry trending, hype, and profiteering."

I am not a fan of this article. I have switched many people’s dogs with skin issues to grain free foods and have had GREAT feedback from most, and my dog is on Taste of the Wild, and his mild dry skin has disappeared. Do you agree with this article, or do you think it’s just marketing on Wysong’s part? thanks for reading.
we are not about marketing. We care about the foods for the pet. This is simply something that was faxed to us by Wysong company. I DO NOT like what they are saying, and I promote grain free feeding, and I feel as though this article does nothing buy bash it..

Ok I’m going to sum up another article briefly. They say that Corn is beneficial and needed for dogs because it’s a fiber. They say dogs have evolved to need corn. Without corn, the fat will go right through the GI tract. Guess who says this? Science Diet. It is ALLLLLLLL about marketing tactics. That article was sitting in a pamphlet at a vet’s office. A vet is supposed to give trustworthy info. Nope. So just like your experience, your store is supposed to be trustworthy, being a small pet store that sells high quality brands, but it’s not and it’s just about marketing.

Oh yeah and personally I am SICK of people (not you) calling grain free and raw diets FADS or NEW!!!! That’s how dogs ate until the 1940’s when the Great Depression demanded a cheaper way for man to feed his dog! That’s when Kibble was invented!

add: Sorry I didn’t mean to insult the store you work at. I don’t know it. I just meant, we can’t trust places like stores or vets that sell things we (in general) have to learn ourselves because marketing can be tricky.

mine prefer choccie drops, dog drops are safe and bigger!

make sure the wheel is a safe design for rats it should not be wire but solid and enclosed and should attach to the cage wall not on a stand. their tails can get trapped and wire surface is not good for their feet (bumblefoot).

give them at least 2 drinking bottles as they can drink a lot and in case one fails.

make some thick plaited ropes out of old t- shirts and find a lady who makes and sells hammocks and comfy sleeping cubes on line, they love them!

i have never used bottle guards?

cleaner spray should be thoroughly rinsed off as they are usually strongly scented. you can clean with fragrance-free soapy water and rinse with white wine vinegar in water which eliminates smells. for convenience spot cleaning use surface wipes as used on baby stuff.
tip: leave a bit of their smelly bedding in the cage or they will busy themselves scent marking- if they are boys.
some of the best toys can be boxes, wine corks and paper bags hung up with treats in.

i think your priority is the extra drinking bottle.

you should sort out a good vet. get one who knows rats a specialist would be good. people on rat, exotic or reptile forums can point you in the right direction as rats can go down with some horrible things from bad breeding practices such as pituitary gland tumor. rats are extremely sick if they show any sign of an illness and so behavioral changes can indicate something is wrong.

i wish you and your rats a healthy, happy life together.

My idea is to make them all natural (I heard it’sall natural dog treats are popular) and make a few batches to offer to my current clients to sample for free, and then hopefully offer them at a cheap rate.

The thing is I don’t yet have a good handle on the costs as for te recepies I’m looking at, I haven’t had to buy many of the ingrediants recently. so for example would the following recipie be cheat to make, than thus be able to sell relatively cheap to my clients?

2 cups brown rice flour
1 Tablespoon activated charcoal (find this at drugstores, not the briquets!)
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2/3 cup lowfat milk

Also I know there must be laws about selling pet food or treats, can anyone point me to were I can find out more about them if there are any?
I did some general pricing and for this particular recipie that came between $3-$5 per batch, less if I bargain hunt. I don’t know yet how many treats this ill make, but I’m sure if I just make like 50 cents ontop of the cost of eat bag, I’d be doing pretty good, both profit and price wise

I can’t really answer your questions, but I can tell you I think it is a great idea! You will have to figure out how many batches you can make with one bag of rice flour (how many cups are in one bag of flour) and the other ingredients then how much does that cost and then divide by how many treats you can make. Then add for your time and your profit to see if it is cheap or not. If you can get 6 dozen out of the recipe and charge say .50 each you might make $25 – 35, especially if you grow your own mint and parsley. I’m just guessing I have no idea what charcoal cost, but you are only using a tablespoon.

I live in a town that’s about 60,000 and another 40,000 within a 50 mile radius. Anyway, we have two businesses that make their own dog treats. They are both doing well.

You might try calling your local humane society. They might be able to point you in the right direction for laws concerning making and selling pet treats.

Good luck!

I became aware of it because I subscribe to a pet-holistic site that alerts me .
I had to go back and ck email…they say it’s from "Ali’s Holistic pet tips" but since I was on it 2 yrs ago relating a story about how flea drops from Hartz killed a pet cat, I don’t exactly remember the site’s "formal" name. I seldom hear from them, but thought this was worthy of passing on as the "Nature’s Miracle" product is always touted as being so effective. I do haves this address to UN-subscribe…but maybe you can use it to subscribe just by typing request in "subject" line>>WRITE a_s_phillips@animail.net Type ‘unsub’ in subject line/for quick removal, include your city/state.
OK…I noticed it said to write to allpromo@roadrunner.com to get the info, etc. about holistic treatment of pets.
(I remember the site having LOTS of testimonials /and stories of how pets suffered from products on the market, so I added mine).
Thx Anne for that link..I signed up.

Thanks for alerting us! I was about to buy my dog Petco allergy tablets!

EVERYTHING’S BIGGER IN TEXAS ~~INCLUDING OUR FLEAS! Here are 2 surefire fixes. In a glass jar combine 1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax and 1/2 cup salt. Sprinkle on your carpet and let stand (overnight worked the best however places that my little "darlings" needed quick access to, did fine after a couple hours). Vacuum the area real well. You may have to go over your carpet a couple extra times to remove all the borax but it’s worth the extra effort.
Another fix that is great for people with allergies is banana peels. I know it sounds CRAZY. But it works like magic. Just peel a banana and throw the peels on the carpet. The next morning they will be gone. You can also use the banana peels in your yard. Not to worry, the banana peels don’t rot so they don’t smell bad. They just shrivel up. My kids got a real kick out of throwing their banana peels on the floor and getting away with it. It helps if you make a banana pudding. No fleas and dessert, it doesn’t get much better than that! (11/22/2008)
I found the best all in one chemical free product. It is Wondercide. They use cedar oil, which is a natural repellent. You can spray it on your property to kill the ones in your yard. You can spray your house to kill the ones indoors and you can spray it on your pets – it is completely safe. It smells like a hope chest, but the smell only lasts for about 30 min. I highly recommend it. You have to order it online, unless you can find a local vet or groomer that carries it. (11/22/2008)

Amazingly enough, rubbing alcohol kills fleas. Spray it on the carpet, furniture, and pets. Its safe and cheap. It takes a few applications and it smells but only for a little while. Very effective.

Pet owners can now buy a do-it-yourself product marketed as Interrupt, BioFlea Halt, or BioSafe. The nematodes are available at many vet offices, garden centers, and pet stores, and can also be purchased in bulk from organic farm and gardening supply catalogues (one source is Peaceful Valley Farm Supply). The nematodes can be applied easily with a hose end sprayer or through an irrigation system.

www.bugspray.com

Mothballs in the Vacuum
The groomer recommended putting mothballs in the sweeper bag. The mothballs killed the fleas and the eggs in the sweeper bag. We ran the sweeper alot that summer, but we had no more problems with fleas. Now, I always put mothballs in the sweeper bag in the summer and we’ve never had another problem.

Hello, this is Evie from Pet Smart. Thank you so much for giving me your email so that I could forward some pet nutrition information to you!

I have decided to include a lot of information, so please save this E mail for later reference.

First, let’s look at pet food label basics.

I. THE LABEL

A. Information required on the label includes quantity, ingredients, guaranteed analysis, feeding directions, and the name and address of the manufacturer or distributor. Even the size of display panels and fonts are tightly regulated.

B. Food Name. There are very significant differences between "Chicken Cat Food" (95% chicken), "Chicken Platter for Cats" (25% chicken), "Cat Food with Chicken" (3% chicken), and "Chicken Flavored Cat Food" (no chicken).

1.The "95 Percent Rule." If the label says "Salmon Cat Food" or "Chicken for Dogs," 95% of the product must comprise the named ingredient (salmon or chicken, in these examples), not counting water for processing. A product label "Beef and Liver for Dogs" must contain a total of 95 percent beef plus liver; there must be more beef than liver, since beef is listed first. This rule only applies to animal products. A label saying "Chicken and Green Bean Dog Food" must still contain 95 percent chicken.
2.The 25 Percent Or "Dinner" Rule. This rule means that the ingredients used in the product name must comprise at least 25% of the product (excluding water for processing) and must include a qualifying descriptor like "bites," "stew," "casserole," "chunks," "entree," "nuggets," "formula" or "platter." "Chicken Formula for Dogs" could actually contain more of other ingredients than chicken, so it is essential to check the ingredient list.
3.The 3 Percent Or "With" Rule. This allows manufacturers to label a product with combinations of ingredients, such as "Tuna, Turkey and Giblets Cat Food" or as "with" an ingredient ("Cat Food with Salmon" or "Dog Food with Lamb") if the product contains 3% of each named ingredient, excluding water for processing.
4.The "Flavor" Rule. Adding further confusion, manufacturers can label products as "Turkey Flavor Cat Food," but not include any turkey other than a "sufficiently detectable" amount. The bottom line is: always read the ingredient list. While it doesn’t tell you exactly what is in the food, it does provide valuable information that will allow you to compare foods and choose the best ones for your cat. I never buy anything with the word “flavor” unless “natural” is listed before it.
5.Order of Ingredients. By law, ingredients must be listed in descending order by weight. Water is generally the heaviest ingredient. Fresh (not rendered) animal ingredients, such as meat and by-products, contain about 65-70% water. The ingredient list tells you what items, and relatively how much of each item, is in the food. The main ingredients are usually the first four or five items listed, but after processing, only a small amount of quality meats and fresh ingredients may remain.
C. The Guaranteed Analysis lists four categories of ingredients: crude protein (minimum), crude fat (minimum), crude fiber (maximum), moisture (maximum)
1.Many foods also list essential fatty acids, glucosamine, and other nutrients separately, although they are not required. "Ash" is what is left of the food after it is literally burned away, and is composed mostly of minerals.
2.How good are these measurements as an estimate of the quality of the food? One study found that "the declaration of crude protein is not sufficient information to judge the protein quality of dog foods."
D. AAFCO Statement (Nutritional Adequacy). The label must state what the product is adequate for general purposes, such as "complete and balanced" or whether it is more limited. Foods made for kittens must meet different standards than foods for adult cats. The language of this statement is strictly regulated. Foods that are do not meet the standards for daily use must specify "intended for intermittent or supplemental feeding only." Quite a few "natural" foods, especially frozen and/or raw diets, do not meet the standards and should be labeled with this wording.

II. COMPARING PET FOODS

A. Dry Matter vs. As Fed. Just looking at the labels, you’d think that a bag of
dry food containing 30% protein has more protein than a can of food containing 10% protein. But canned food actually has much more protein. The difference is the moisture. To compare foods accurately, you have to subtract the water. This allows you to compare directly, on a "dry matter basis."

1.Dry weight is calculated by subtracting the moisture content from 100 percent. To calculate each ingredient’s percentage, simply divide the listed percentage of the ingredient by the dry weight percentage. Dry food typically contains about 10% water, while canned food contains about 78% water.
2.Example: A canned food contains 8% protein and 78% water. Dry matter content is 100% – 78% = 22%. Now divide the ingredient by dry matter: 8% / 22% = 36% protein.
B. Estimating Carbohydrates. You can get a rough estimate of the carbohydrate content simply by subtracting protein, fat and moisture from 100%. For cats, shoot for a carb content of 10% or less.
a. Meat meal
b. Meat and bone meal (mammals)
c. By-product meal (poultry)
d. Plant-based meals such as corn meal or soybean meal are not rendered.

D. Rendering has a bad name, but it is a necessary industry that "recycles" the 50% of every livestock animal not used for human consumption.
1."4D" animals are those that are dead, dying, diseased, or disabled prior to reaching the slaughterhouse. They may be condemned for human consumption in whole or in part. Other rendered items are by-products, parts and items that are unwanted or unsuitable for human use—such as out-of-date supermarket meats, cut-away cancerous tissue, and fetal tissue. They are commonly found in pet food under names like "meat and bone meal."
2.Quality of rendered ingredients varies greatly. A few rendering facilities are closely associated with slaughterhouses, which are in turn connected with feedlots or poultry farms. These "captive" rendering plants are more likely to produce good quality, relatively pure meals. Such meals are typically designated with the name of the source animal, such as "chicken meal."
3.Despite rumors to the contrary, just because something goes into the rendering plant does not mean it ends up in pet food. There are many other uses for rendered products including livestock feed, fertilizer, industrial use, cosmetics, and many more. So, while roadkill and euthanized pets are commonly rendered, it is—while not impossible or even illegal—unlikely that they will be used for pet food.
2. How to Pick the Best and Safest Foods
•Avoid by-products (including by-product meals, meat-and-bone-meal, and similar terms). An occasional can of by-product-based wet food is okay, but not as a steady diet.
•No "animal" products such as "animal digest" or "animal fat."
•No corn or wheat products and no "gluten" products.
•Look for a named meat or meal ("lamb" or "chicken meal," for example, instead of the generic term "meat") as the primary protein source. Be aware that many products will list meat as the first ingredient, but the next few ingredients are the real protein source: corn gluten meal, by-product meal, meat-and-bone-meal, or other cheap substitutes for real meat protein.
•Avoid wheat, soy, or corn products of any type. They can be contaminated with pesticides, molds, and other toxins. Corn and soy are commonly genetically modified.
•Avoid generic or store brands. These may be repackaged rejects from the big manufacturers, and generally contain cheaper—and consequently poorer quality—ingredients.
•Don’t shop for pet food at the grocery store, or even at your veterinarian’s office. You’ll find the best quality foods at specialty pet stores, health food stores, and many feed stores.
•Unless specifically recommended by your veterinarian, avoid "light," "senior," "special formula," or "hairball formula" and similar foods. These products may contain acidifying agents, excessive fiber, or inadequate fats that can result in skin, coat and other problems.
•No chemical preservatives (BHA, BHT, propyl gallate, ethoxyquin). Look for dry foods preserved with Vitamins C and E instead of chemical preservatives. While synthetic preservatives may still be pres
present, the amounts will be less.
•In general, select brands promoted to be "natural" or "organic." These terms have legal definitions. While such foods are not perfect, they may be better than most. Watch out for foods with terms like "Nature" or "Organic" in the brand name that don’t contain natural or organic ingredients.
•The term "human grade" has no legal meaning. However, since by-products and feed grade grains are clearly not human grade, foods using "human grade" ingredients may be better than most.
•Foods made by smaller, independent companies are often superior to mass-marketed brands, but it is still essential to read the label and assess the ingredients.
•Check the expiration date to ensure freshness.
•Store dry pet food in a sealed non-porous container (a large popcorn tin is ideal) in a cool, dry place. Remove leftover canned food from the can and refrigerated in a glass or ceramic container.

I don’t know how you are getting these people’s email addresses, but I would NOT do this if I were you. One of these customers may turn you in and you will be out of a job. I understand that you are trying to educate and help people, but what they feed their pet is really none of your business. You have no idea what their incomes are and what they can afford. If they wanted to learn about foods, they can Google this themselves. I think you better stick to doing your job and not stick you nose in someone elses business. I’m NOT trying to be rude…..I’m trying to help you keep your job. Besides that, YOU are not a public forum and some people may call this an invasion of privacy. This is MY opinion.