Pet Health

Watch dogs put balls into side & corner pockets A man walks into a pool hall with his dog … no, this isn’t the beginning of a joke—it’s a showcase for a dog with the unique ability to play the game of pool. Meet Halo, who learned to play pool from her owner Josh Kuhn. After Kuhn installed a new pool table in the basement of his Minnesota home, he found Halo to be a regular observer, then a curious participant as Halo would stand up on her back legs, lean her paws onto the table, bark at the balls and run around, eyeing and following the action. Soon, Josh seized upon her curiosity and taught Halo how to play the game by using her paws as a doggie cue. Tags:  videos dogpatch from The Bark https://ift.tt/35N40vR

Beyond marketing hype—what we know, and need to know, about protein ingredients in commercial dog foods. A deeper look at what’s in the type of food so many of us feed our dogs. In May 2014, Nestlé-Purina, the largest producer of pet foods sold in the U.S., filed a lawsuit against Blue Buffalo dog food , a competitor. Among other things, the lawsuit alleged that Blue Buffalo’s marketing claims—that their foods contained no by-product meals—were false and disparaging to other companies’ products. Tags:  wellness food & nutrition from The Bark https://ift.tt/37TFuvG

Dogs save people all the time, and we hear about those heroes on the news. But we don’t often hear about the dogs who are everyday heroes—the dogs who save us from ourselves. When I had nothing left, I still had my dog. In fact, at a total rock bottom in my life, all I had was my dog. As I struggled with mental-health issues and alcoholism, my black-and-white Pit Bull, Brayson, saved me on a daily basis. Brayson’s name was meant to sound soft and approachable for fear of the stigma that Pit Bulls have had to contend with in recent years. And he was soft, friendly and loving. At my worst moments, throughout my struggles, I would promise Brayson that a house with a fenced-in backyard would come. Tags:  essays tributes from The Bark https://ift.tt/31VhJPY

If you’re a regular here at Proud Dog Mom then you probably know I’m a big believer in feeding my dogs fresh food filled with real meats and other whole ingredients. Just like with people, diet plays a large role in our dogs’ overall health and happiness. So, when it comes to mealtime, I try my best to offer my furkids an abundance of nutrients that will leave them feeling fueled and in tip-top shape. With all that said … If you feed kibble, many canine nutrition experts recommend bumping up their bowl with some fresh foods to replace nutrients lost during the high-heat processing. Here are some ingredients worth looking into! Sardines Sardines are tiny fish with a very big nutrient profile! In fact, they’re often called one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. They’re rich in omega-3 fatty acids  (these little guys are one of the best Omega-3 sources for our dogs since they aren’t high in ocean contaminants) , protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D, selenium, calcium, and the

I’ve researched the cities (and states) which appear on 5 popular lists of dog friendly cities. There are 27 cities in 20 different states represented. I'm going to summarize the findings for you -- to help you decide if you might want to move to one of these cities or travel there with your dog! Continue reading A List Of The Most Dog Friendly Cities In The U.S. For Your Dog Travel Bucket List! at First Time Dog Owner Guide. from First Time Dog Owner Guide https://ift.tt/34zrNzP

Cats and Halloween go together like ‘Trick or Treat’ and to celebrate the felines’ season to shine, cat parents are posting the cutest pics of their fur darlings dressed in their spooky best. Here at iHeartCats.com , we’re having a blast scrolling through all those feeds just so we can see the kitties celebrating. One thing that screams Halloween are big, round pumpkins and the jack-o’-lanterns they become. Since we love pumpkins and cat photos, why not enjoy the season with a gallery of cats and pumpkins together! Happy Halloween!  Cats Chilling with Pumpkins  Two sleek house panthers present the “ First pumpkin binge of the season!” @thekindlycabin/ Instagram A sweet little bat of a cat, Maple is ready for some pumpkin picking! @thehikingcatco/ Instagram Is that a fluffy gray pumpkin? Let’s snuggle that sweetie pie! @the.siberian.masha/ Instagram “Happy Halloween from Gary, Gary’s spider, and Pete”… @bloodbellschime/ Instagram Morris says October “f eels sooo Gourd”…

Greetings pawsome human minions. Your feline friend Forrest here, coming once again to impart important cat wisdom. I’m on my way to nap in my chair on the porch. The sun has almost reached optimal cushion warming position and I’m quite looking forward to a doze as I just finished a play session with my favorite feathered wand toy. But before I drift off into shrimpy dreams, I thought I’d share my thoughts on wands with you. Now, you may be thinking, whatever, wand toys for cats are all the same…a stick with a toy on a string. But no, in a cat’s eyes, the flippy end of every wand is its own unique prey for the pouncing. @these_wild_eyes/ Instagram And thanks to prey preference, which is a fancy term for what a cat likes to hunt best, felines will never agree on which wand is best. Each one of us will have a different favorite. For example, I’ve mentioned my mocking bird foe in the past, so my prey preference leans toward feather toys at the end of a wand. I’ve got one those nif

Every cat tale is great, but some just really fill your heart with love. And the tale of Gus the cat finding a hurt baby bird is one that will leave you blubbering over the sweetness. Gus is a darling. You don’t have to meet him to know he’s a kind soul. Just seeing his photos tells you this boy has a big heart and a bottomless well of compassion. But to be so good, Gus comes from a sad past. When he first came to live with dad Sebastian Hart, Gus was so anxious and fearful, he hid under the bed. And not just for a couple of days either. Gus spent five months working up the courage to overcome past worries. Sebastian Hart via The Dodo Sebastian told The Dodo , “I fed him under the bed, had his litter under the bed, and just let him recover in his own time.” Gus’s dad understood and helped him work through his fears as he was dealing with his own issues with anxiety. Together, the pair moved toward brighter and calmer days, forging a tight bond. “I’m not his owner, I’m his frie

Off the Eastern shore of Japan, a paradise for cat lovers waits among the waves of the Pacific. There, cats do as they choose, waiting to be admired by visitors to their island. The island of Tashirojima has long been known as Cat Island thanks to the felines that prowl the sandy shores and forests. And strolling down the street, you’re more likely to run into a cat than a human as there are more felines calling the island home than people. Sounds like the ideal relocation spot for the cat lover! @kato_kouta/ Twitter But the kitties weren’t always the main residents of the island. The inhabitants of Tashirojima used to raise silkworms for the production of fabric or they fished the abundant waters. Felines were brought to the island to protect the silkworms from mice, but they soon realized hanging around with the fisherman also earned them tasty morsels from the ocean. Between silkworms and fisherman, the island had the ideal perks for a cat. @ttt_zegu952/ Twitter As the hu

Moon the dog has a soft spot for kittens who need some extra TLC. And tiny tabby kitten Peg needed some serious love and care after losing a paw. At ten days old and weighing only 172 grams, Peg the kitten needed surgery to amputate an injured back leg and part of her tail. The procedure would save her from the infection that threatened to rage through her small body and kill her. But her young age made the surgery a risk in itself. Veterinary nurse and foster mom to Peg, Kate Hayes knew the choices were limited for the kitten. But she saw something shining strong and bright in the little one. A fierce will to survive. Surgery was the right choice for the little fighter. @cute_moonbear/ Instagram “The only choice we had was to amputate her leg sooner rather than later as her leg was so badly infected and had started to essentially die risking her going into sepsis,” explained Kate. Being the youngest kitten to go through surgery at Warwick Veterinary Hospita l, Kate worried abo