In a previous post, I talked about how much Lisa and I liked Merrick dog food for our dogs Faith and Mac. One of the reasons was because — in owner Garth Merrick’s own words — Merrick Pet Care sold only to “the independent specialty pet market, ” which consists of locally owned and online pet shops. Merrick maintained that his company sold only to these pet shops because it was the independents who supported him when he began manufacturing dog food and cat food.

If you go to the Merrick Pet Care website, you can still see and hear Garth Merrick say those words in the video on the home page. Unfortunately, though, he’s no longer telling the truth. The sad fact is that for Merrick, profits trumped principle. He now sells to chain stores. It’ll be interesting to see how long the current version of the video remains on their website.

Merrick Pet Care follows a long line of independent companies such as Toms of Maine toothpaste (now owned by Colgate Palmolive), Ben & Jerry’s ice cream (now owned by Unilever), and Burt’s Bees skin care products (now owned by Clorox) that have sold out to national or global conglomerates. The companies couch their reasons for selling out in lofty-sounding terms. But the reason is simple: They put profits ahead of principles.

In Merrick’s case, Garth Merrick didn’t sell out the company, but he did betray his often-stated principle of selling only to “independent specialty” pet shops. Currently, Merrick is selling his dog food and cat food to Whole Foods and PETCO. There’s speculation that he also will cut a deal with Petsmart as well.

I learned that Whole Foods was selling Merrick dog food and cat food this past summer, when Whole Foods bought out Greenlife Groceries. Green Life was as locally owned organic grocery store in Tennessee with sites in Chattanooga and Ashville. Lisa and I discovered Merrick pet food there well over a year ago and began feeding it to Faith and Mac.

Last summer a friend of ours who’s a local vendor who sells his product to Greenlife told us that the store was being bought out by Whole Foods. (He also mentioned that Whole Foods had begun limiting shelf space to local vendors and replacing their products with Whole Foods’ own brand-name ones, many of which undersell the local products.)

When I asked one of the Greenlife employees if Merrick was going to continue selling to them now that they were owned by Whole Foods, she responded that customers loved the product and Whole Foods was negotiating with Merrick to keep selling their food. The food never left the shelves, even for a day.

This past weekend, Dale of A Natural K-9 blog alerted me that PETCO was selling Merrick dog food and cat food. I checked the PETCO website, and — sure enough — they were offering the whole gamet of Merrick pet food and treats. The prices are lower than what independent pet shops sell them at.

Apparently Merrick downgraded some of the formulas they use in making some of the food. Right now I gather that the change is mainly for the dry food. I assume Merrick made the change to meet the increased demand of selling to chain stores. Lowering the quality of a product to expand production isn’t surprising, though. Companies do it all the time to sell to conglomerates such as Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, and Target. Many of the companies sell the products at reduced prices, so manufacturers compromise quality to maintain profits.

Lisa and I try to support local businesses. One reason we bought Merrick dog food was because Merrick sold only to independent businesses. Now that Merrick doesn’t do that anymore, we owe no more loyalty to the Merrick brand.

If we still want to buy Merrick pet food, we’ll purchase it from a local pet shop such as Aunt Sue’s K-9 Bakery & Pet Supplies or The Bone Appetit Bakery (website being updated) and not from Whole Foods or PETCO. We might have to travel further to buy it, but we’ll still be supporting local businesses.

I think, though, that we’ll look for another brand to buy. After all, there are plenty of high-quality dog foods to choose from. And some of them still sell only to local pet shops.

Garth Merrick’s decision to sell to PETCO and other chains also hurts the independent pet shops he claimed he wanted to support. One thing that separates local pet shops from chain pet shops is that the locals carry products the chains don’t. One of those products was Merrick pet food, which many people love. Now owners of local pet shops will feel the financial pain in reduced sales.

Merrick’s decision also hurts local communities. Now instead of $68 of every $100 spent on Merrick pet food staying in the community, only $43 will remain. That difference of $25 will go to PETCO’s corporate headquarters in San Diego, California and to Whole Foods’ corporate headquarters in Austin, Texas. Soon that $25 also will go to Petsmart’s corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona.

In his comment on my Merrick pet food review, Dale said that “[a] brand name can always be sold or changed. Its a business.” He’s so right. And Merrick is a good case in point.

For Merrick, profits trumped principle.

Ever since she came to us three years ago, our fearful dog Faith has had trouble finding a playmate. For the longest time she tried to get our cats, Caesar and Princess, to play with her. But she wanted them to play like dogs — and they wanted no part of that.

When Lisa and I adopted Mac, we thought that Faith would finally have a playmate. But no dice. Mac had no interest in playing with her. The frustrating thing — for us, anyway — was that Mac would play with Charlie whenever he came over for a long-term slumber party.

Charlie belongs to Kim, who pet sits for us when we go away for more than a day by staying in our house. Faith loves Kim and follows her around constantly — which is good since Mac plays with Charlie constantly.

Then we adopted Mattie the one eyed cat. From the very first, Mattie and Mac hit it off. The reason for that is probably because Mattie enjoys playing like a dog. Sometimes she and Mac chase each other. Other times they groom each other. And still other times Mattie plays with Mac’s tail and bites it. (Mac draws the line at tail biting, though, and quickly tells her to stop.)

At first Faith was afraid of Mattie. She’s an in-your-face cat who does weird things such as make sudden moves, bat at you from a chair as you walk by, play with your tail or bite it, and lick your face. Gradually, though, Faith learned not to be afraid of Mattie until the two of them finally became friends and playmates.

Mattie has made a big difference in Faith’s life by opening up a whole new dimension of play to her. I imagine it was quite frustrating to Faith to want to play but not not to have anyone to play with. Faith has also learned that Mattie’s rapid actions and other weird behaviors are normal (for Mattie, anyway).

In short, Mattie has helped Faith develop some of the socialization skills she didn’t learn in her first couple of months as a pup.

A couple of nights ago I spent twenty minutes watching Faith and Mattie play together in the living room. Mattie has some really weird-but-cute antics. While I watched them, I wished I could make a video of them at play, but Faith has an aversion to cameras.

So instead, I made a short video of Mattie’s weird antics with humans — playing with my foot. (As the video begins, you can see Faith leaving the room because I’m holding a camera.)

On October 8, Blue Buffalo Company issued a dog food recall for three lines of dry food because the food might contain too much vitamin E. According to the company, the dog food recall affects “limited production code dates.”

The foods being recalled are:

• Blue Wilderness Chicken Flavor dry dog food
• Blue Basics Limited Ingredient Formula Salmon and Potato Recipe dry dog food
• Blue Life Protection Formula Natural Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Large Breed Adult dog food

Following the practice of companies such as Merrick Pet Care, Blue Buffalo Company buried its dog food recall notice deep in its website, making the notice difficult to find.

Here’s the full notice as it appears on the FDA website:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - October 8, 2010 – Blue Buffalo Company, Ltd., recalls certain dry dog food because of possible excess Vitamin D that can affect the health of some dogs. The Blue Buffalo Company, Ltd., is recalling certain packages of its Wilderness Chicken, Basics Salmon and Large Breed Adult Chicken dry dog foods sold under thc “BLUE” brand which have the potential to contain excessive levels of Vitamin D.

While Vitamin D is a beneficial component of these foods, the Company believes that these products may have levels of Vitamin D that are beyond the formula specifications, and has therefore chosen to withdraw them.

Dogs reacting to the higher levels of Vitamin D may show signs of lethargy or exhibit unusually frequent water consumption and urination. If your pet has consumed the recalled products and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

The affected productions of Blue Wilderness Chicken, Basics Salmon and Large Breed Adult Chicken dry dog foods were distributed nationwide through pet specialty stores.

Only these production runs of the products are involved in this recall:

Blue Wilderness Chicken Flavor dry dog food	4.5 1b	“Best If Used By JUL2611Z” “Best If Used By JUL2711Z” & “Best If Used By JUL2811Z”
Blue Wilderness Chicken Flavor dry dog food	11 lb	“Best If Used By JUL1211B”
Blue Wilderness Chicken Flavor dry dog food	24 1b	“Best If Used By JUL1211B” & “Best If Used By JUL1311B”
Blue Basics Limited Ingredient Formula Salmon and Potato Recipe dry dog food	11 lb	“Best If Used By AUG2111B” & “Best If Used By AUG2211B”
Blue Basics Limited Ingredient Formula Salmon and Potato Recipe dry dog food	24 lb	“Best If Used By AUG2111B” “Best If Used By SEP2311P” & “Best If Used By OCT2611P”
Blue Life Protection Formula Natural Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Large Breed Adult dog food	30 lb	“Best If Used By SEP2211P” “Best If Used By SEP2311P” & “Best If Used By OCT2611P”

No other BLUE dry or can pet foods are involved in this recall, and only the specific code dates of these products are involved.

To date there have been 36 cases nationwide of dogs reported with symptoms consistent with elevated Vitamin D in their systems while feeding on these specific productions of the products. In all cases the symptoms have subsided upon discontinuing feeding these products, with no apparent long term health consequences.

Blue Buffalo learned of this potential eondition in its products when it received reports of dogs diagnosed with high Vitamin D levels while feeding on the products from these specifie production runs. On further investigation it was learned that a sequencing error had occurred at the supplier of the dry ingredients for these products. Immediately before producing the ingredients for these specific production runs, the supplier had run a product for another customer that contained a more potent form of Vitamin D used in chicken feeds. It is now believed that there was some level of carry over of this Vitamin D product into the ingredients for the specific manufacturing runs of the BLUE products, thereby increasing the Vitamin D activity to unacceptable levels in the Blue ingredients.

Consumers who have purchased any of the products being recalled are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-877-523-9114 from 8 AM to 8 PM Eastern Time or visit the Company web site at www.bluebuffalo.com/news9 for more information.

Is This Dog a Source of Clean Energy?

We all love our dogs and cats. But their poop is becoming a serious problem here in the U.S.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the average dog creates 274 pounds of waste a year. That’s a lot of dog poop! But if one dog outputs an amazing 274 pounds of dung a year, just think how much waste every dog and cat in the U.S. must create each year. According to William Brinton, president of Woods Ends Laboratories, Inc. — which has been studying animal waste for the past 36 years — the total is more than 10 million tons!

Every year, 4 million tons of dog poop from that mind-boggling 10 million tons of dung pollute our waterways, contaminating our drinking water. The poop problem doesn’t affect just water, either. When people come in contact with dog poop in parks and campgrounds and other places, they can contract parasites from it. Dogs can get parasites as well from eating dog poop.

The pet waste problem has become so bad that it led to the creation of an annual National Scoop the Poop Week (April 24-30) to encourage us dog owners to scoop our dogs’ poop and dispose of it properly.

To reduce the health risks to us and our four-footed companions, we need to eliminate dog poop. What are our choices? Two come readily to mind: tossing the dung in the trash and using septic-type dog waste disposal systems.

Tossing dog poop in the trash certainly gets it out of sight, but doesn’t resolve the dung problem. It simply consolidates the waste and moves it to another location, often the town or city dump.

Dog poop waste displsal systems, which are similar to septic systems for humans, effectively eliminate the dog waste. These systems are great, but — and don’t get me wrong — getting rid of the dung is all they do. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, in addition to being broken down, the poop could also be put it to some kind of beneficial use?

Recently an article in the The Washington Post talked about a third kind of dog waste disposal system that does just that — by using dog poop to light a street lamp. Called the “Park Spark” poop converter, the system was invented by an artist named Matthew Mazzotta for a month-long clean-energy experiment in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Mazzotta placed his dog poop waste disposal system in Pacific Street Park, which is in a run-down section of Cambridge. The system consists of two 500-gallon oil tanks that are attached to a street lamp. Dog owners put their dogs’ poop in one tank and then turn a wheel to mix the dung with water. Enzimes in the tank create methane, which then lights the street lamp.

Mazzotta created his dog waste disposal system for several reasons:

• To create a work of art for the park
• To get people to think “differently about what’s around them”
• To provide a source of “clean energy and better waste disposal”

Mazzotta might be on to something — especially since people in other countries use poop to create energy.

Unfortunately, though, Mazzotta doesn’t plan to develop his dog waste disposal system into something marketable. But maybe someone else will. Perhaps dog poop as clean energy is a technological idea whose time is about to come.

You can read the entire Washington Post article here.

Photo by Svadifari / Sean via Flickr

Today human-style pet burials are becoming more and more common as we increasingly think of our four-footed companions as members of our families. So much so that currently there are over five hundred pet cemeteries across the country. And more and more pet crematories and pet funeral homes are opening up for business every year well. (The owner of one pet crematory that opened recently near Chattanooga told me that he handled over four hundred clients in a single month.)

Additional services pet crematories and pet funeral homes offer include such things as:

• Coffins
• Markers
• Memorials
• Fur clippings
• Death announcements
• Thank-you cards
• Paw prints
• Chapel services

Until recently, most people believed that the practice of burying pets human-style began during the Victorian period in the last half of the 19th century. Extravagant tales abound. The man who buried his dog in a satin-lined coffin to the accompaniment of a doxology — after the dog had lain in state. Or the woman who buried her dog in a casket with two locks and carried the keys on her for the rest of her life. Some people took mourning photos of their deceased dogs as well while other carried locks of their dog’s hair.

A recent archaeological discovery at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, however, pushes the date of human-style pet burials back a hundred years or so — to somewhere between the late 17th and the mid-18th centuries — after two graves were discovered. The graves were unmarked and contained small fragments of bones.

According to James Jones, who’s the director of the College of William and Mary’s Center for Archaeological Research, the researchers originally believed the graves contained human remains because the remains “were buried like people.” The graves’ east-west orientation supported the belief as well because in the Colonial period graves were aligned in an east-west direction.

Lab analysis on the bone fragments, however, indicated that the graves contained the remains of two dogs. These graves represent the only known examples of pet burials found in the Colonial period. (However, just because only two were found doesn’t mean there aren’t any more 17th- or 18th-century dog or cat graves waiting to be discovered.)

We don’t know anything about the dogs in the grave or why they were given human-style burials. And we don’t know whether or not their caretakers considered them as part of the family.

What we do know now, though, is that human-style pet burials in the U.S. might have began sometime between the late 17th century and the mid-18th century.

You can read the entire article on the William & Mary blog.

Our Fearful Dog Faith -- Free of Fear at Last to Walk on a Leash

Fearful dogs and fear of leashes often go hand-in-hand. Our fearful dog Faith would avoid us if she saw a leash in our hands. With a lot of patience and hard work, though, Lisa and I succeeded in helping her overcome her fear. Now Faith goes on mile-long walks with us around the neighborhood.

The big breakthrough came when Lisa not only enticed Faith to leave the backyard on a leash, but also enticed her to walk to our next door neighbor’s house and back — and then do it a second time.

Today, Faith sees the leash as her friend and her ticket out of the backyard. When she spies the leash in my hand, she begins wagging her tail and prancing around, eager to go for another walk.

In this post, I’ll explain how we got a leash on our fearful dog. The strategy worked for us and it can work for you.

Faith’s Story

Just a short recap. Our fearful dog Faith, who’s a Lab/Rottweiler mix, arrived on our doorstep as a three-month-old pup after having spent a month in the woods. We think that during her first two months her so-called “caretakers,” wanting to make her into a fighting dog, severely abused her. However, because Faith has such a sweet disposition, they failed to turn her mean. So they dumped her in the woods.

Faith While She was Living in the Living Room

It took us three months to entice Faith into the house. After we finally got her into the living room, she refused to leave for over a year. (However, she would go into the fenced-in backyard to go to the bathroom. But the door to the yard is in the living room.) The living room was Faith’s safe place.

Finally last May, we enticed Faith to leave the living room. Since then, she’s made rapid progress. She now has full range of the house (although she’s still afraid of going into some areas). She also lets us brush her and, when she comes in from the rain, wipe water off her fur and mud off her paws. (Before that, she wouldn’t let us near her if she knew we had a brush or cloth in our hands.) And last month — for the first time ever — she let us put Frontline on her. (Up till then we’d been giving her Sentinel tablets for fleas and heart worm because she will take pills wrapped in cheese.)

Faith still had a lot of fears, though. One of them was the leash. We think her fear of the leash was caused by her early abuse from a leash or chain during her first two months as a pup.

How to Get a Leash on a Fearful Dog

Our strategy is simple, but requires a lot of time, patience, and understanding. Especially time. For us, it took months from the time when we first started working with her until she left the backyard on a leash for the first time.

Two crucial elements during the training are praise and treats. Use both generously whenever your fearful dog does what you want her to do. Also, unless you want your four-legged friend to get fat, be sure to reduce her other food intake for the day to compensate for the treats you gave her.

And don’t forget: all dogs are different. So use our strategy as a model that you can revise in a way that fits your dog’s needs.

The strategy consists of eight steps:

• Get your fearful dog used to seeing the leash.
• Put the leash on and off until she becomes comfortable with the procedure.
• Put a short leash on her.
• Put a longer leash on her.
• Walk the dog through your house on the leash.
• Walk the dog in the yard on the leash.
• Take the dog out of the yard on a short walk.
• Gradually extend the length of the walks.

We got Faith used to seeing the leash by carrying a short one around with us and by leaving it on the floor where she could see it. The leash wasn’t a long one, though. It was one we’d cut down to a foot-long length.

After Faith became comfortable seeing the leash, we put dog treats on the snap and let her take the treats off the snap. Taking the treats from the snap got her to see the leash as something good: a source of food.

For food, we used Pet Botanics rolled dog food (the Lamb & Brown Rice Dinner.) We cut some slices off and then cut the slices into pieces, which we put on the snap. Pet Botanics is one of Faith’s favorite training treats.

Our Fearful Dog Faith Taking a Break from Her Walk

Getting Faith to let us put the leash on her was difficult. She was fine taking dog treats off the snap, but when we make to fasten the snap to her collar, she would pull away, back off, and wouldn’t let us near her. We tried putting the leash on in different rooms, but all to no avail.

Finally, though, Faith must have realized that she had to wear the leash. So, if she wasn’t already in the living room, which was her safe place, she would go there, sit with her ears down and her tail between her legs, and let us put on the leash. Finally, she let us put the leash on her in different rooms.

The first few times we put the leash on, we took it off immediately. Gradually, we kept the leash on longer and longer until Faith would wear it for one or two hours at a stretch. Each time we put the leash on or off, we’d give her a dog treat and praise.

Initially, Faith would stay in the living room. We encouraged her — but never forced — to go into other rooms, using food and praise. Finally, she left the living room, and before long she was comfortable going throughout the house with the short leash on.

Next, we put a six-food leash on her. She felt uncomfortable with the leash trailing around — and I really felt badly for her. And, like with the short leash, she at first wouldn’t leave the living room.

After a lot of coaxing, though, she began walking from room to room while we led her on the leash. For these sessions, we used higher-end food: homemade dog treats from The Bone Appetite Bakery in Chattanooga, TN.* Faith absolutely loves them. Whenever she went into a room for the first time, we’d make a big deal about it and give her extra treats and praise.

Before long, she didn’t need the treats. However, on some days Faith would “regress,” and not want to leave the living room with the leash on or would leave the living room but wouldn’t want to go into the bedroom or some other place. In these cases, we didn’t force her inside because doing that could set her back. Instead, we ended the session on a positive note — such as walking back into the living room — along with a treat and praise, and tried again another time.

Once Faith was comfortable walking on a leash inside the house, we took her outside into the fenced-in backyard and walked her up and down the length of it, using dog treats to entice her. Faith was very nervous at first, but gradually came to enjoy the walks.

Finally, we opened the gate and lured her out with a Bone Appetite dog treat. Lisa and I were both pleased and surprised when she walked over to our next door neighbor’s fish pond and back for the first time — and even more so when she did it again without any coaxing.

Gradually, we took Faith for longer and longer walks. Now she walks one of Mac’s regular routes — almost a full mile. For these walks, I use Old Mother Hubbard Old Fashioned Dog Biscuits, the mini-size ones. The reason I don’t use Bone Appetite treats is became the frosting melts in the hot weather and makes a mess on my hands in in my treat pouch. Faith really likes the Old Mother Hubbard biscuits, though. (Our other dog, Mac, likes them, too — but he likes anything that’s eatable.)

Now we’re at the point where we take both Faith and Mac out on walks together.

Using a Role Model

We adopted Mac not only as a companion for Faith, but also as a role model for her. Mac has been a good influence on Faith’s leash training. Ever since we adopted him, Mac goes crazy whenever he sees the leash because it means he’s going outside for a walk. Faith has watched his antics for over a year, and Lisa and I think it helped Faith realize that being on a leash wasn’t a bad thing.

A lot of times, if Faith was outside when Lisa or I took Mac for a walk, she’d stand behind the chain-link fence and watch us leave and return.

It got to a point that when we returned from walking Mac, Faith would let us put Mac’s leash on her. And then she began sitting down as if waiting for her leash when Mac sat down for us to unfasten his leash after we’d returned home.

We’re thrilled with the progress Faith has made. You just have to be patient with your fearful dog, give her plenty of positive reinforcement when she does things right, and plenty of treats.

Our next big challenge is getting Faith into the car. We’re going to rely on Mac as a role model for this daunting project as well.

*Currently The Bone Appetite’s web site is being updated.

The Bone Appetite Bakery
103 Frazier Ave
Chattanooga, TN 37405-3932
(423) 756-2663

Announcing another dog food recall.

On September 3, Hartz Mountain Corporation recalled one specific lot of 74,400 8-ounce bags of Hartz Naturals Real Beef Treats for Dogs because of possible Salmonella contamination. Hartz imported the treats from a supplier in Brazil. Apparently, Hartz sold the treats to a number of customers in the United States

If you have an 8-ounce package of Hartz Naturals Real Beef Treats for Dogs, check the lot code and the UPC number. If they match the ones below, then your package is part of the Hartz dog food recall:

• Lot Code: BZ0969101E
• UPC Number:  32700-11519

Here’s the text of the full Hartz dog food recall notice as it appears on the FDA website:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — SECAUCUS, N.J. – September 3, 2010 – The Hartz Mountain Corporation is voluntarily recalling one specific lot of Hartz Naturals Real Beef Treats for Dogs due to concerns that one or more bags within the lot may have been potentially contaminated with Salmonella. Hartz is fully cooperating with the US Food and Drug Administration in this voluntary recall.

Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems, all of whom are at particular risk from exposure and should avoid handling these products.

Salmonella symptoms may include fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and nausea in both dogs and humans. Anyone experiencing the symptoms of Salmonella infection should seek immediate medical attention. Owners of dogs exhibiting these symptoms should also seek veterinary assistance.

Hartz Mountain Corporation is recalling 74,700 8-oz bags of Hartz Naturals Real Beef Treats for Dogs, lot code BZ0969101E, UPC number 32700-11519, which were imported by Hartz from a Brazilian supplier, Bertin S.A., and which were distributed to a number of customers in the United States. While regular testing conducted by Bertin (prior to shipment to the US) did not detect the presence of Salmonella in any packages of this product, random sample testing conducted by FDA did indicate the presence of Salmonella. Hartz is aggressively investigating the source of the problem.

Although Hartz has not received any reports of animals or humans becoming ill as a result of coming into contact with this product, Hartz is taking immediate steps to remove the product from all retail stores and distribution centers. Dog owners having purchased this product should check the lot code on their bag, and, if the code is not visible, or if the bag has lot code BZ0969101E imprinted thereon, they should immediately discontinue use of the product and discard it in a proper manner.

Consumers can contact Hartz at 1-800-275-1414 at any time with any questions they may have and for information on how to obtain reimbursement for purchased product.

Pet gates come in all sizes and shapes. There’s one to fit every cat or dog guardian’s needs. The one that worked for us was the Carlson Extra Tall Walk Thru Pet Gate with Cat Door. Both Lisa and I consider it a great product. Here’s why.

When our fearful dog Faith first came into our living room to live, we were confronted with a special problem. We didn’t know how Faith would react to our three cats while we were at work. Would she think they were chew toys and kill them?

You might think our concern was a bit far fetched, but it wasn’t. Already Faith had killed a tiny duckling that had somehow gotten in the backyard. Thinking the poor duckling was a toy, Faith grabbed it in her mouth by the neck and shook it so hard its neck broke. So we needed to keep Faith from chasing the cats and doing the same thing to them while at the same time giving them access to the upstairs, which is through the living room. After a lot of research, we found the solution in the Carlson Extra Tall Walk Thru Pet Gate with Cat Door.

Six Outstanding Features

Six outstanding features of this extra tall dog gate recommened it to us. The first was its height: 41 inches. Faith is a Lab/Rottweiler mix, and we knew she would grow into a large dog. The other brands and models we saw didn’t seem tall enough to prevent her from jumping over them.

The second feature was its expandability. The gate comes with a 6-inch extension built into it, which can expend the width to between 29 and 34 inches. But the package also includes a 6-inch extension that lets you expand the gate to 40 inches. And if that’s not wide enough for you, can buy 4-, 6-, 12-, and 24-inch extensions for it. The six-inch extension the pet gate comes with fit our needs. We found that the 40-inch width was wide enough for the entrance to the living room and for the foot of the stairs to the second floor.

The third feature was its pressure-mount system. You anchor the gate by expanding the extensions against the two walls. The pressure-mount system makes the gate sturdy. A dog would have to work pretty hard to knock it down. Faith and Mac have never knocked ours down.

The fourth feature was the “people” door that you can latch and unlatch. Currently, we have an extra tall dog gate barring access to the kitchen. Usually we keep the people door shut so Mac won’t enter the kitchen while we’re not there or while the cats, which we feed in the kitchen, are eating. Sometimes while we’re working in the kitchen, though, we keep the door open so Mac can join us.

The fifth feature is the 10×7-inch cat door, which is large enough for Mattie, Caesar, and Princess to go through but too small for Faith and Mac. (However, a small dog can go through it easily.) You can fasten the cat door shut or leave it open.

The sixth feature is that it was safe for dogs and cats. Why? Because the gate is “chew proof.” The materials that make up the gate don’t contain lead and aren’t toxic if a dog or cat should try chewing on it. (The gate’s all steel construction might be a little hard on the dog or cat’s teeth, though.)

Versitility of the Carlson Extra Tall Walk Thru Pet Gate with Cat Door

All in all, I think this extra tall dog gate is a versitile product and well worth the money for the reasons I’ve mentioned. After we learned that Faith and the cats could get along, we took down the gates to the living room and to the second floor and reinstalled them at the entrances to the kitchen and to the laundry room, where we keep the cats’ litter box. (Mac loves cat poop and litter.)

Recently, we bought another Carlson Extra Tall Walk Thru Pet Gate with Cat Door to put at the foot of the front steps outside. Unlike the previous extra tall dog gates we purchased, this one came with a 24-inch extension, and can expand from 29 inches to 52 inches. That width is perfect for the space we want to block off.

After we put the gate up, Mac can come out and join us on the front porch. Faith can, too — if we can ever persuade her to go through the front door.

If you have a cat and live in Loveland, Colorado, you might want to know that Proctor and Gamble (P&G) just recalled “a small number” of their Iams Proactive Health Indoor Weight & Hairball Care dry cat food.

Fortunately, the recall only affects one or two pet stores.

The reason for the recall? You guessed it. The food might be tainted with Salmonella, although no one’s reported any illnesses from the food yet.

Here’s the text of the full recall:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 29, 2010 – CINCINNATI  — Procter & Gamble (P&G) is voluntarily recalling a small number of bags of its Iams Proactive Health Indoor Weight & Hairball Care dry cat food which may have been sold recently in one or two stores in Loveland, Colorado.

These bags have the potential to contain salmonella, although no illnesses have been reported.  No other Iams pet food products are affected.

The Iams Proactive Health Indoor Weight & Hairball Care cat food in question is sold in blue 6.8-pound bags.  These bags feature a code date of 02304173 (B1-B6) and the UPC number 1901403921.

If you have this product, please discard it and call P&G toll-free for a product replacement at 800-862-3332 Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST.

P&G has worked with its retailers to remove the affected product from stores in the area.  P&G believes that only three bags may have been purchased recently by consumers in the area.  Yet, as a precautionary measure, the company is initiating this retrieval.

People handling dry pet food can become infected with salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with surfaces exposed to this product.  Healthy people infected with salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever.  Rarely, salmonella can result in more serious ailments including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with salmonella infections may have decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain.  If left untreated, pets may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting.  Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

I guess we’ll have to wait to see if P&G extends the recall.

Photo by Erick Pleitez via Wikimedia Commons

Animal shelters all across the country are being swamped with unwanted dogs and cats.

The reasons for the deluge vary. When some people lose their homes, they move into rental houses or apartments that don’t allow pets. So they either abandon their pets or drop them off at shelters. Other people simply don’t want their dog or cat anymore and dump the unfortunate pet somewhere. And some people don’t neuter their pets.

Folks in the part of Tennessee in which I live are notorious for not neutering their dogs and cats. For example, a couple just down the street keep two unneutered dogs — a male and a female — in a small fenced-in area at the edge of their yard. Recently, the male got the female pregnant, and she gave birth to five pups. Now all seven dogs roam the streets and woods of this rural area. Perhaps their so-called guardians are hoping the pups will get run over, which will save them the trouble of getting rid of them. I expect when the last of these poor pups finally “disappears,” the female will have another litter — and the cycle will start all over again.

Many of these abandoned dogs and cats end up in animal shelters, and the overloaded shelters have trouble providing for their four-footed charges. One strain on the shelters is the expense of buying food to feed hungry mouths every day.

A Creative Way to Provide Free Dog Kibble

The problem of obtaining food is where Mimi Ausland comes in. Two years ago, this eleven-year-old girl wanted to make a difference in the lives of the dogs at her local dog shelter by making sure they wouldn’t go hungry and also would be able to eat high-quality dog kibble every day. In an act of brilliant entrepreneurship, she came up with a creative way to provide the shelter with free dog kibble and to keep the supply flowing in as well: She created a website called FreeKibble.com.

The way her solution works is simple. Every day, the website displays a different dog trivia question. (The point of the questions is to educate visitors about dogs.) When you click an answer, ten pieces of kibble are donated to an animal shelter. The answer you click doesn’t even have to be the correct one. Whether you answer right or wrong, you still donate the ten pieces of kibble just by clicking.

Initially, Castor & Pollux donated the free kibble. Now, though, Halo® Purely for Pets donates it. The two companies’ involvement with FreeKibble.com is a great example of cause branding — a company’s associating itself with a worthy cause to drive up sales.

Mimi’s free kibble for dogs site became wildly successful almost overnight. Mimi launched her site on April 1, 2008. A little over a month later — May 14, 2008 — she personally delivered her first shipment of free dog kibble to the Humane Society of Central Oregon. The shipment weighted 240 pounds, which could feed 456 dogs for a day.

A Creative Way to Provide Free Cat Kibble

Mimi wasn’t just interested in feeding only hungry dogs. She also wanted to supply free cat kibble to animal shelters as well. So she created a sister website called FreeKibbleKat.com. The site works the same way as FreeKibble.com, except that you answer a question on cat trivia. You can cycle back and forth from cat site to dog site to provide free kibble for dogs and cats alike.

How Individuals Can Make a Difference

Mimi’s two websites have been active for almost two-and-a-half years, and so far she has collected and donated 405,829,670 pieces of free dog kibble and free cat kibble. She donates the food not only to the Humane Society of Central Oregon, but to other animal shelters as well.

Mimi is an extreme example of how one person can make a difference in the life of an unwanted dog or cat. Not all of us, though, can become entrepreneurs like Mimi. But we can still make a difference.

How?

Here are some examples:

• Volunteer at your local animal shelter. Many shelters are understaffed. For example, our local shelter, the ARK of Cleveland, needs volunteers to walk their dogs.
• Donate a bag or cans of high-quality dog or cat food.
• Donate money.
• Foster a dog or cat.

Talking about donating money. Last year Lisa and I began an annual Christmas tradition of giving each other a gift in the form of a donation to the ARK. When we went to the ARK to give them the check, we ended up adopting Mattie, our one-eyed kitten.

The biggest difference you and I as individuals can make in the life of a dog or cat in an animal shelter is to adopt her.