Dog lovers know that dogs are generally quite responsive to rewards, like praise and petting. But if you’re training your dog, treats are a even better motivator.
Unfortunately, many commercial dog treats contain additives that can be harmful to your dog’s health, including artificial colorants, preservatives, and flavorings.
Continue reading “Banana-Yogurt Dog Treats”
It’s no secret that pets can bring a lot of joy to the lives of their owners, but did you know that having a pet can actually improve your health too?
Spending time with pets actually causes physical reactions in your body that reduce stress and improve your mood. Just petting a cat or dog, or watching a fish swim actually decreases your levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, and helps increase production of serotonin, a feel good chemical that increases feelings of well-being. Additionally, playing with a pet can increase your levels of both serotonin and dopamine, which will leave you feeling more calm and relaxed.
While many of us love the warmer weather that spring and summer bring, those of us who own pets know that pests like fleas also enjoy these seasons’ milder temperatures. Aside from being highly annoying to your pet, flea infestations can also cause more serious health issues, such as excessive itching (some animals are more sensitive to flea bites than others), hair loss, secondary skin infections, and anemia.
Unfortunately, many commercial flea preventatives and treatments contain highly toxic chemicals. Though these collars, shampoos, pills, and sprays are certainly effective at killing fleas, they are highly unsafe for pets and their owners. Many of the chemicals in these treatments are also highly irritating to dogs and cats so they will lick and bite at them, which increases the amount of toxins that they take in. Herbalist, Juliette de Baïracli Levy, even states, “The modern flea collars, because they work on a chemical principle and carry health-precaution warnings, I suspect are more hazardous to health than the presence of fleas.”
Continue reading “Natural Pet Care: Preventing Flea Infestations”
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