Tripe - it’s one of the healthiest additions you can make to your doggie’s diet. Also, one of the ickiest and stinkiest to us humans, tripe actually is the stomach lining of a cow’s fourth stomach. In the cow, this is where the actual digestion of the grasses and grains happens.

Wild dogs completely consume their prey, including the stomach and its contents which supply enzymes, minerals and vegetation. By supplementing Fido’s diet with tripe, you can mimic the nutritional benefits that his wild cousins take advantage of.

Tripe smells truly awful to us, but dogs adore the smell. Dogs who have diets that include tripe have healthier, shinier and richer colored coats, healthier skin, healthier teeth, better stools and increased vitality.

Tripe contains an incredible range of nutrients including, enzymes, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and pro biotics. For sick dogs whose appetites are waning, tripe can often stimulate appetite and aid in digestion.

I give Louis freeze dried tripe (made by Solid Gold, their seven ounce bag of Petzyme is 100% freeze dried tripe with no additives or preservatives) as a treat every day and he loves it! It is an exceptionally healthy treat that I can feel good about using as a reward.

Solid Gold also makes a canned tripe product called Green Cow that should be used as a supplement to a complete diet.

Another great way to incorporate tripe into your dogs diet, for all you BARFers out there, is through using Dr. Billinghursts BARFworld unbleached beef tripe fresh frozen patties. These are a great supplement to a raw diet and the plethora of benefits can only be truly expressed by seeing your pup undergo a health transformation through tripe’s benefits.

Tripe is more commonly incorporated into the diets of pets living in Europe who thrive on this diet. A quick browse on Google for other articles about tripe showed many comments made by dog owners too grossed out by tripe to consider this addition to their dog’s diet. We must remember, as adorable as our fluffy little couch potatoes are, they are directly related to the wolf and have the digestive systems to match. With everything our dogs do for us, suffering through the stink of tripe every once and a while is a small way to return the favor.

Dogs are omnivores with strong carnivore tendencies and in order to truly give our pals the love they deserve, we need to nourish them with diets that they were designed to digest.

Just ’cause its icky to you and me, don’t deprive your dog of a little tripe!!

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Dogs have been trained to fight in our wars since ancient times, preforming tasks such as using their sense of smell to track, scout out booby traps and concealed enemies and were even used to physically bring down opponents and their horses.

Today Military Working Dogs are most commonly used as aids to police officers with larger breeds performing guard, patrol and law enforcement duties and smaller breeds performing smell detection roles, such as explosive, drug and other contraband detection.

These dogs all have served an additional purpose. Throughout history war dogs often were proclaimed as mascots for the troops. The presence of a canine served to relax and build moral for the troops.

As the war rages on in Iraq and Afghanistan, wild puppies have been befriending US soldiers who are taking charge of their care, saving the dog’s lives and instituting them as mascots of their platoons.

Once a soldier’s deployment is up, soldiers are faced with abandoning their dog to the streets, even though he has been socialized for a life with humans. In Afghanistan and Iraq dogs are not treated as pets, instead living in packs on the streets. By leaving their mascots behind, it is almost certain that the dog will likely die on the street without the survival skills necessary to run with the feral packs.

SPCA International began Operation Baghdad Pups when it was contacted by a unit desperately trying to get their mascot dog, Charlie, out of Baghdad. Charlie was found as a tiny pup by a soldier, Sgt. Watson, starving, shaking and infested with fleas and ticks. With the love and care of the unit, the near dead puppy grew into a strong healthy dog, serving as a constant reminder of the power of love, even in the most desolate of situations.

Operation Baghdad Pups was launched in November 2007 by SPCA International with the purpose of raising the funds necessary to bring these canine heros to the United States, providing transportation, shelter, vaccinations and even socialization and training upon arriving in the United States. It extremely complicated to navigate vaccination protocols and quarantine laws in order to humanely bring an animal from a war zone to a safe zone.

By rescuing these pups who have formed deeply rooted bonds to soldiers, we can save the life of the dog and offer soldiers the continued companionship of animals who provided love and hope in the midst of a war zone.Please visit www.baghdadpups.com to learn more, donate to this charitable cause and to read individual stories of soldiers and their companions assisted by this meaningful program.

Image of Charlie and Sgt. Watson via www.baghdadpups.com, SPCA logo is a service mark of SPCA International, Inc.

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I am inspired to write this as I lay in bed, third day straight with a fever, cough, chills and aches and pains I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Louis, my ever present companion is snuggled up against me, occasionally, opening is bright, brown eyes, looking up at me and snuggling a little closer.

As unpleasant as this illness is, it got me thinking - how do responsible pet owners know when their pooches are seriously sick?Let us assume that since you and Spot became family, you have been diligent about a balanced diet and routine health care. Even still, occasionally, his immune system may fail him, as mine has failed me!

These symptoms can range from pretty mild to severe, depending on the cause. Doggie symptoms are an external expression of an internal disruption. How to decide if veterinary intervention is necessary?

First and foremost, common sense!All puppies will eventually have a day that they feel under the weather at some point in their lives. If symptoms do not seem severe and start subsiding within a day, they may just need to run their course. However if any of the following applies, go directly to your vet!

• Sick dog symptoms increase or intensify over a 24 hour period.
• Symptoms persist more than a day
• The dog is in obvious distress.

All in all, its better to be safe then sorry, so don’t hesitate to seek professional advice. The first month my husband and I had Louis, we rushed him to our vet no less then six times, for what we were convinced were emergencies. Five out of the six vet ‘emergency’ visits resulted in no diagnoses, other then our vet reassuring us that no, in fact, we were not going to kill our new baby boy. The sixth time, Louis had a little stitch that was rejected from the site of his neuter surgery, which just needed to be clipped. I was beside myself with fear - in the end all was well.

As you become a more experienced parent, you will be less likely to panic and more likely to evaluate the situation in a calm and rational manner. Each dog is individual and you know your baby better then the vet does.

Knowing what is ‘normal’ for your unique specimen of cuteness is the first step in evaluating your pet for illness. Get familiar with his eating and drinking habits, his output (excrement and urine) and his temperament. If anything seems off, your first clue that something is up.

A good article is available at canismajor.com outlining signs and symptoms indictating your dog might be sick. Click here to see the full article.

A sick dog is nothing to sneeze at. Have a well stocked first aid kit at home for emergencies, include your local 24 hour emergency veteraniry clinic’s number. Program your cell with both your regular vet and the emergency clinic.Our dogs are our room mates, our play mates, our soul mates. Their care is our responsibility.I wish canines and their guardians everywhere good health!

bulldog with headache via pawsaroundchicago.com, sick dog image via www.cypressanimalclinic.com, vet cartoon via cartalk.com

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David S. Holloway, image via The New York Times.

By MELENA RYZIK

Published: February 2, 2008

“Puppy Bowl IV,” a three-hour extravaganza in which a cast of 46 dogs frolics, chases, pants, sniffs, rolls, tail wags and occasionally picks up a ball on a set resembling a football field, will be broadcast at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Click here to read the full article in the New York Times.

More on the Puppy Bowl on animal.discovery.com

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by Michelle Thomas

Your veterinarian recommends it, even sells it at their office, so it must be what is best for your pet. Right?

Millions of pet owners blindly assume that this is true. Aren’t our veterinarians the ones we are supposed to rely on to keep our pets healthy and answer all of our pet care questions?

Hills, the manufacturer of Science Diet, sends out complimentary puppy and kitten kits to veterinary offices. Each time a new puppy or kitten visits that office they are given a complimentary bag of food, coupons for their next visit and informational packets emphasizing the importance of good nutrition, achieved through their products.

If trusting pet owners took the time to read the label on that puppy food, they would find the top ingredients listed as follows, ground whole grain corn, chicken by-product meal, soybean meal and animal fat. Yikes!

Having working in the pet industry and as a pet owner for for some time, I struggle to count on one hand veterinarians I have encountered who recommend and emphasize the importance of true, high quality nutrition. How can this be?

Veterinary schools are infiltrated by the major pet food companies looking to peddle their products to the next generation of veterinarians. I attended Michigan State University, and earned a Bachelors Degree in Veterinary Technology. A veterinarian with a PhD in nutrition taught my nutrition course. This vet also worked as a food developer at Purina for many years.

During an exam I was required to write “The ingredients in the food do not matter the only thing to consider when analyzing a diet for your patients is the nutritional analysis such as the % protein and fat.”

If I was to answer differently, I would be marked wrong. It was painful for me to placate this irrational line of thought. Our teacher explained that when formulating a pet diet, ingredients are entered into a computer system which analyzes the content to reach a specific ratio and meet the requirements set by AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials).

This translates into the use of the least expensive and, more often then not, biologically inappropriate food sources being utilized. Ingredients such as corn gluten are used as a protein source.

During my time as a student, Hills gave special nutritional seminars and even had a special program that provided all students with up to 100 pounds of free food monthly. I must say I preferred to pay top dollar for my dog’s food, even as a poor student than receive their free ‘food’.

It baffles me that highly educated and intelligent veterinarians and veterinary students are not using common sense to question the legitimacy of the information being pumped into them by large corporations.

I urge you, as pet owners to do your research. Don’t be afraid to question and communicate your concerns with your veterinarian. If your vet is offended or unwilling to discuss or research options with you, then find one who will!

Shouldn’t your veterinarian be passionate about your animal’s health?

Michelle Thomas holds a degree in Veterinary Technology from Michigan State University. Michelle lives with her French Bulldog rescue Mojito and her kitten Tyson. She is currently studying acupuncture and Oriental medicine at the Acupuncture and Massage College in Miami, Florida and is incorporating these modalities into her pet’s care.

image of Science Diet Puppy Formula via www.hillspet.com

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