So what do you feed your dogs? That is a question I was asked a lot at the Yorkshire Terrier Specialty Show and the press room at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show last week when they found out that my Yorkie, Schmitty is nine years young. They couldn”t believe Schmitty’s puppy energy & soft luscious fur was almost identical to her three year old adopted sister, Pudge.
We beg for healthy food!
It’s been a journey to come up with a menu that has helped Schmitty get through a kidney problem and gastrointestinal problem, I believe that was caused by processed dog food I fed Schmitty as a puppy. (Note: Schmitty also was given some rawhide that I think must have had salmonella which caused her to bleed from both ends and most likely compromised her little kidneys too. It was horrible. I will NEVER give them rawhide again).
Pudge, on the other hand/paw is one healthy pup (knock on wood) from me becoming a smarter human. What Schmitty had to go thru -- bad food, too many vaccinations, toxic flea and tick medication - Pudge benefited greatly by my gained knowledge. And it shows. Pudge is the picture of health. Who says an old dog (me!) can’t learn new tricks.
OK, what do I feed Schmitty & Pudge? Believe it or not, I made a video back in December when we appeared in the window of Lee’s Art Shop about what I feed my pups. As they say, a video is worth a 1000 words. LOL! So, click below for my doggie version of Julia Childs without the funny voice.
Even since doing the What I Feed My Yorkies video, I continue to learn new things about foods I feed my pups. As you watched and heard, I cook organic foods for Schmitty & Pudge. And it’s not dog food. I believe we humans are finally getting smart and are going back to feeding our dogs human grade foods. Dogs have hearts and kidneys and livers just like us. So, why wouldn’t we feed them healthy foods? Before processed dog foods, our furry friends lived long lives. The average dog life was up there -- even living 18 to 20 years! Now more dogs are developing cancer and other diseases at 2 and 3 years old. Coincidence. I think not.
Since making the video, I have now cut most of their hard dog kibble out of their diet (except for treats) on the advice of Dr. Marty. Their teeth look so much better too. I have now added plain organic yogurt to Schmitty & Pudge’s breakfast. And organic cottage cheese during lunch and dinner for Schmitty who struggles to keep weight on because she eats so healthy. Humans take note.
I’m sure I’ll be blogging a lot more about dogs and their diets. Let me just end this by saying that like humans, dogs are what they eat. They have no free will. They can’t turn up there nose to the same dry food poured in their bowls day after day, year after year. So, the more we pet parents open our minds and learn how to better take care of our 4 legged family members, the healthier, happier and longer our pets will live.
When I bump into someone on the streets of New York with a small dog and we get to talking, I always ask – “How’s your pup’s teeth?” Seems that most small dog owners fret over their dog’s teeth and with good reason. Small dogs have teeth problems and can start losing adult teeth as young as 2 years old. Oral health care for our pets is as important as all other health care. So, why are we so afraid of taking care of dog’s teeth?
Last week, I had the gut wrenching experience of taking my little Yorkie, Pudge to the vets to get her teeth cleaned. Of course, if you tell another pet owner of your plans, they gasp and say – “Your putting your dog under?” Like I need guilt to add to my worries. Anyway, I brush Schmitty & Pudge’s teeth and take great pains to do all I can to remove tartar and such. But it doesn’t seem to matter. So, I worry for 6 months while I get the courage to make an appointment for a teeth cleaning.
Last week, I figured Pudge being all of 3 and 1/2 years old would have her teeth cleaned and that would be that. We took both Schmitty & Pudge to Dr. Marty Goldstein, a holistic vet in South Salem NY – a 1 1/2 hour drive from NYC. But it’s worth it. Dr. Marty not only helps the body heal with healthy alternatives (I believe Dr. G. helped save Schmitty’s life with alternative care for her enlarged kidney) and does the same with teeth cleaning (Vitamin C IV to help detox the body of harmful bacteria etc.), but he also has a radio show on The Martha Stewart Network on Sirius Radio and has taken care of Oprah’s dogs. Makes for great conversation at a cocktail party. Plus, Dr. Marty definitely knows his stuff.
So, back to the teeth cleaning. Pudge went in for a teeth cleaning and came out with less teeth. Why? Dr. Marty says that since small dogs have been bred down, their little mouths still have the same number of teeth as their larger ancestors. Can you say German Shepard. What? So, the mouth is cramped and the teeth have less places to anchor and take root. Some teeth don’t even have strong roots. So, some small dog’s teeth don’t have a chance. And that’s what happened to little Pudge. She was under for 2 hours getting cleaned and save some teeth. But she still lost some teeth last week. Dr. Marty showed me Pudge’s X-rays. Her jaw bone had bone loss. The teeth had no place to anchor and popped out like a bad chad in a voting machine.
I asked Dr. Marty what I could have done differently. He said, “Don’t get a Yorkie!” A comedian. Nice. Dr. G. says it’s going to take 7 to 8 generations of breeding to give small Yorkie’s jaw and teeth a better chance at being healthy and strong. Oye! In the meantime – I am now giving Schmitty & Pudge “Bio-Dent” by Standard Process to help their bones. And I continue to give them Petzlife. It’s a 100% natural gel by Petzlife Products Inc. that I give the pups twice a day. It balances the acid and alkaline in their mouths to fight tartar and kills bacteria. Here’s a secret. I have even been taking it myself and my teeth have been feeling great!
NOTE: I just found out that Petzlife now makes a human product called F’rst Defenz oral care spray. I’m now using it and loving it!
Pudge is doing fine. Came through the anesthesia with flying colors. The healthy doses of Vitamin C and other healthy supps to help detox, I believe, is the secret. And my education has helped me realize how important oral care is. And if you are pro active with your pup’s oral care, you can’t beat yourself up when it comes to genetics. But I still will! LOL!
Happy New Year! The slate is clean and I look forward to sharing info and experiences that can help your pets live a happy, healthy and hopefully long life.
OK, so if you ordered my pups 2010 calendar, Schmitty’s Healthy Do’s & Don’ts – you’ll know that January’s “Do” is about an important New Year’s Resolutions -to stop smoking.
If you don't quit for yourself, quite for your dog!
Seems that using your dog to stop smoking is not just something Schmitty suggests. Below is a great article from www.Dogster.com for any pet lover trying to kick the smoking habit.
http://bit.ly/8cVLCR
Good luck and Happy New Year!
Elly
PS. You can still order Schmitty’s Healthy Do’s & Don’t 2010 calendar at www.schmittysays.com. Fun pics and great tips!
Wow. My very first blog on #PETCHAT! My dog, Schmitty The Real New Yorkie has her own blog, www.GottaVisitNYC.com. So, I guess if Schmitty can do it – I can too. I’ll be sharing with you my trials and tribulations of being a Pet Mom to two Yorkshire terriers, Schmitty & Pudge. And using my 20 years of experience in marketing and advertising in sports , kids and now pets (and I’m only 23 years old – LOL!), give you my take on whats good and what’s not so good for your pets. That said, I’m still working on the design so it looks cool too – so I’ll be back to you soon. Can’t wait.
On last thing – I host a show on Twitter called #PETCHAT. Every Monday night from 8 – 9PM, pet parents and their pets (!) stop by to chat and share stories about their pets, themselves – whatever. So, if you wanna laugh, cry, howl, bark, meow, honk, chirp – join me Monday nights on Twitter at 8PM. Just type in the pound sign along with the word PETCHAT ( = #PETCHAT) in the box above the Trending Topics to the right of your Twitter page and start chatting! Hope to see you there.
This is so exciting! Thank you, Srdjan for your help on getting me up and running!
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