We dogs are even more affected by toxic chemicals than Humans are. We weigh less (so a little bit affects us more), we have shorter life spans (so we experience damage faster) and we're more exposed. 

If we walk on pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, chemicals, oil, road grime or road salt, toxic cleansers or any other awful stuff, it'll end up inside us when we lick our tootsie's clean (as Jiggy is pretending to do here)—unless you clean them first. Ask yourself: Do you even know when they treat the grass and weeds at your local dog park or on that golf course we romp on? Or do you presume that the hydrochloric acid in our tummies, you know, the stuff that helps protect us from many bacteria, helps protect us from chemicals? Well, guess what? It doesn't! 

It may be a hassle, but cleaning our tootsies after walking on toxic surfaces today will be a lot less troublesome, tragic and expensive than making multiple trips to the vet to treat our cancer someday. Wipe our feet with a damp rag or all-natural baby wipe, wash with a hose, or plop us into the sink. The better job you do, the safer it is for us. I know you don't want to, but as that great philosopher Nike suggests: Just do it!

Our Motto: If you wouldn't lick it; don't let us walk on it without cleaning our feet afterwards. And if any household product says "avoid swallowing" or "keep out of the reach of children," don't use it on your floors.

 

Mom interviewed holistic vet and nutrition expert Dr. Jean Hofve for our first teleseminar. Though I admit to napping through most of it--I prefer a few straight-to-the-point barks to your species' propensity for gabbing-- I listened to it the next day. Dr. H is soooo funny--and soooo scary.  I was shocked when she said to:
 

• Be wary of any processed pet food containing corn because of the high pesticide residue in the feed corn used in many of these foods. She said it's even legal to feed us corn condemned as too pesticide-laden for you two-leggers. Can you believe it? To be safe, call the company making the food in question and ask if they use "feed corn" (as opposed to people-food quality corn) and ask about what they consider an acceptable level of pesticides. Then ask, acceptable to whom? And what are dogs doing eating corn anyway? Think our ancesters evolved eating corn? How many wild dogs and wolves are farmers?
• Avoid peanuts, too.  Dr. H said, to be safe, all peanut products must be organic. They're also a common allergen.

Passive smoke can cause doggy lung cancer. Really. And it's not a pleasant (or cheap) way to die.
 

Do you examine your dog at least monthly (weekly is better) for the danger signs of canine cancer? The next time you see your vet, have him/her show you how to evaluate your dog's poop for problems, and how to check for swollen lymph nodes. (Mine are baby pea-sized and hard to find.) Learn, too, how to inspect her mouth for oral cancers which are way too common, sometimes very difficult and painful to treat and too often deadly.

To learn more about what you need to do to give your dog a fighting chance to at least catch cancer early--when it may be treatable--click here or paste this into your browser: http://www.avma.org/communications/brochures/cancer/cancer_brochure.asp

 

Our vet, Dr. Tamara Hebbler, has us supplement our diets with green algae. We take Pet Sun Chlorella (www.sunchlorellausa.com)  which is especially made for—you guessed it!—pets.  I'm pretty sure that includes dogs.

I get half a tasty little wafer in the morning, and lucky Jiggy gets a whole wafer day and night. (It's a male dog's world.) Dr. Hofve, during our nutrition teleseminar, said she thinks a good green algae product is one of the four most important supplements your dog can take. 

A recording of this interview comes FREE with your Scared Poopless purchase. It also includes their 55-minute discussion of:

• Supplements that improve canine health--and those that can be harmful.
• The best sources of calcium and essential fatty acids.
• Immune system boosters.
• Important things to know if you feed your dog commercial foods.
• How a raw food diet can help your dog or cat.
• What foods harm dogs and why. (It might surprise you.)
• How ginger can help your dog.
• How to deal with loose stools and diarrhea.  
• Four supplements your dog should take.  (More surprises here!)
• Why is kibble problematic?
• And much more! 

Does your dog suffer from unsightly tear stains? Do all the other dogs tease her ... or even shun her? Or have you "cured" your dog's tearing?

Please sign up for our Tear Stain Study which begins shortly. All you have to do is answer a short questionnaire. Mom and I are trying to get to the bottom of this aggravating problem.

Want to sign up? Just send us an e-mail with Tear Stains in the subject line. We'll send you an e-mail shortly with a link to the questionnaire.