Judy's Dog Report Library : Page 2 of 4 : Judy's Dog Report

A dog grooming brush-blow dryer

Recently, I took you on my journey of grooming Roxy while dog groomers were closed down due to COVID-19. Well since then I learned about a dog grooming 2-in-1 brush-blow dryer, and I had to test it out! So I ordered it from Amazon.

Ownpets 2-in-1 Pet Blow Dryer

A dog grooming 2-in-1 brush and blow dryer combined!

Beautiful summer weather invites our dogs to roll in the grass, among many other messy canine activities! So I knew that Roxy was going to need a bath before her next grooming appointment. But every time she had a bath, it was always difficult to blow dry her fur. It required holding a brush in one hand, and holding the blow dryer in the other hand. This two-handed method meant I had to periodically stop blow drying in order to brush through tangles. And only then could I resume blow drying her fur.

A great dog walking summer shirt to keep you cool!

Hopefully, you read my recent blog on cooling vests and neck bands that keep your dog cool in the heat of summer. And today I’m going to tell you about the summer shirt that can keep you cool in the heat of summer!

Judy wearing the great summer shirt to keep cool while on a nearby road trip with Roxy and her best friend.

Keeping your dog cool in the heat of summer

Summer is here. And it’s hot! So here’s a few ideas for keeping your dog cool in the heat of summer!

Cute Mini Schnauzer rolling in the grass to stay cool on a hot summer day.

Keeping your dog cool by doing this with your water bottles:

Over my many years of working with dogs, I learned most dogs will not drink warm water during a walk. And I could relate to that! I didn’t want to drink warm water on our walks either! Even when I placed some ice cubes in my water bottle, the content warmed up very quickly in hot weather. So I came up with a simple method to keep the water in my water bottle cold for over an hour!

Dog Nutrition Part IV – What’s on Roxy’s menu?

So today, my final dog nutrition part IV in the series is all about what’s on Roxy’s menu! Up to now you have learned about why processed pet food is unhealthy and what other options are available? And also how to approach buying non-processed dog food.

How I created the best dog nutrition menu for Roxy.

If you have read through my previous 3 dog nutrition blogs, you will not be surprised that my primary choice for Roxy is raw food. This is because dogs’ digestion systems are designed to deal with it safely and efficiently. Raw food is also my first pick, because it provides superior nourishment to cooking the nutrients out of the food. High quality fresh frozen raw food purchased from my trusted pet specialist is balanced with the right proportions of muscle, bone and organs for needed for optimal dog digestion. That way, I can be sure I’ve got the correct ratios.

And, surprisingly, it can be the least expensive, except for maybe home-cooked meals. But feeding home-cooked meals to your dog requires much more planning. You must buy and formulate the right nutritional ratios of all the ingredients. If you select, buy, apportion and then cook the food, you will spend more time and effort. It’s simpler to buy the fresh frozen food from your local dog food expert as I do for Roxy.

Why also serve freeze-dried or air-dried raw food?

This all being said, I also wanted Roxy to be able to digest something other than fresh frozen raw food. So I have included the freeze-dried Stella and Chewy and the air-dried Ziwi Peak raw foods in her diet for the following reasons:

Buying non-processed dog food – Dog Nutrition Part III

In this blog, you will learn how to buy non-processed dog food! I’ll answer the following questions: Where do you buy these raw foods? How do you decide which type and how much? How do you introduce raw food to your pet? What are the cost comparisons? Are there any risks to feeding raw?

So far in my previous two blogs in the series, you learned about why processed dog food is unhealthy and then, what are the non-processed alternative dog food options?

Where to begin buying non-processed raw dog food to ensure proper nutrition?

Karen Schiavone founded and has operated Barkside Bistro in Toronto for a number of years. I have been purchasing high-quality frozen commercial raw dog food from her at Barkside since 2014. On Karen’s website, she indicates that her mission is to “strive to offer products that have been carefully selected, with consciousness towards environmental sustainability, and ethically responsible decisions.”

So I trusted that the brands from Barkside Bistro were sourced from companies that Ms. Shiavone personally vetted to be ethical, both environmentally and in their farming practices. And what I learned from Ms. Schiavone, is that a dog’s full nutritional requirements are obtained through 90% meat and organ content, with 10% bone content per meal. When you search online, you can see that most commercial raw dog food products contain this ratio.

Ms. Schiavone also obtains a health history for all new clients’ dogs, so that she can recommend the appropriate commercial raw food for the given dog’s health. Based on the dog’s medical and dietary needs, she also discusses possible supplements.

Nutrition for dogs – Non processed food alternatives

In this blog, you will continue to learn what to serve your dog for optimum nutrition. By now you have read my last post showing processed dog food is unhealthy, and watched the recommended documentary “Pet Fooled”. If you are new to our community, please READ THAT POST FIRST! The key information that you need to absorb is found in the Pet Fooled Documentary. This is essential homework to understand why I say that processed dog food is unhealthy for your pet.

So now I’m sure you are wondering, what are your options? Which kinds of dog food give proper nutrition? Let’s discuss alternatives to processed food.

Here are the options that I recommend instead of feeding your dog processed food. The list is in order from the most effective, to the least effective nutrition sources for dogs:

Fresh raw, or commercial frozen raw food
Commercial freeze-dried, or air-dried raw food
Home-cooked meals
High-quality canned dog food

Finding a high quality dog groomer – after COVID-19

A well groomed dog. — Roxy strikes a pose!

When the world opens up again after COVID-19, you will need to find or re-engage a high-quality dog groomer so that Fifi can strike a pose and look her very best! I hope you were pleased with your provider prior to social distancing. And when businesses resume, I trust your favourite will still be available. But in case not, you may want to plan ahead. A groomer may not top your list of critical animal practitioners. However, your choice requires specific and important criteria. I have created a series of questions below that will allow you to explore these criteria. For your dog’s safety, you might want to evaluate your present groomer through the same lense. We can be lulled into a false sense of security. So let’s begin!

Grooming Your Dog – during COVID-19 – Part II

Welcome to grooming your dog Part II – during COVID-19. So as I noted in my earlier blog , it is up to us to groom our dogs until our dog groomers open again.

Today, I will take you through my journey from “shaggy” Roxy–after 7 weeks of not being groomed—to “almost vogue” Roxy! Hopefully, you will be inspired to take your own journey to groom your dog during the COVID-19 business closures.

Please note that I purchased all items in this blog to groom my dog.

So just to remind you, this was what Roxy looked like at week 7:

As we commiserated in my previous post about grooming my dog , our groomers are closed. And we don’t know when they can safely reopen during COVID-19. So, I ordered new Wahl brand dog clippers plus the shampoo and conditioner, all recommended via email by my groomer, Pawla’s Grooming . I anxiously awaited the shipment from Rens Pets’ Depot

Dog Nutrition – Why processed pet food is unhealthy

Let’s talk dog nutrition. Before I explore specific diets in my next blog, Dog Nutrition Part II, let’s first consider what the majority of our dogs eat. Over the past 100 years we have been purchasing dog food based on a myth, the myth that dog lovers can feed highly nutritious processed foods in an easy-serve format. I have researched the pet food industry in depth; and it has flourished precisely because we have believed that message and bought into the concept of nutrition in a bag.

And that is because the processed pet food industry has artfully sold us that concept. Yes, I said “concept”, not “product”. Pet parents have bought the idea that we can feed our dogs well from a simple bag of dried food! So easy! Just rip open the bag and pour! Everything we need to nourish our dogs is contained within! But when you learn how this food is designed and produced, you will likely want to avoid it.

Grooming your dog – during COVID-19

While we wait in hope for the world to open up again and our professional groomers to open their doors again, your dog and mine will need to be groomed. And it looks like you and I will be doing it! Below follow the start of my grooming adventure. I hope you will be inspired to spiff up your own dog!

Here’s what Roxy looked like during week 7

Dog needing to be groomed during COVID-19

I typically take Roxy to the groomer every 4 weeks. You can see here she is starting to look unkept. And I haven’t groomed my dog myself in over 10 years! I always left it up to the professionals to make her look salon gorgeous. But these are unusual times.