Would Your Humans Do This?

Hi everyone! Here in Chicago it has been really nice out lately! The weather has been in the 70s and sunny! It is breezy and cool outside, and we love it. Whenever Mama is home, she makes sure to take us outside. She brings her books, her computer, or her knittung outside so we can get plenty of fresh air!
One day last week Mama saw something sad. She went to school, and walking through the parking lot, she heard someone barking! Mama followed the sound and found a car, with the windows rolled all the way up, and a little dog inside. As Mama walked closer to the car, the dog's barking turned to happy barks, like, "Hi! I'm in here! Come see me!"
It was only seventy degrees out, but Mama had noticed that when she had driven to school, her car had been uncomfortably hot and she'd had to roll down the windows. So she was worried about the little dog! First she wrote a note, saying something like, "Even though it feels cool out, it can get as hot as an oven in your car. It is very dangerous for your dog. Please don't leave him in the car alone. Signed, A Pet Lover." She left it under the windshield.
Mama went into school, still worried about the dog. She thought she could find a security guard and ask him if they could help the dog. She went into school and looked around, but she couldn't find anyone to help. She went to her class and told her teacher about it. The teacher said she'd call security, and that Mama should just get started with her work until they came. Well, the teacher must have forgotten about it, because the security guards never came!
So, durng the class break, Mama ran outside to check on the dog. Thankfully, the dog and the car were gone!
Mama thought about it all day. She wondered if it seventy degrees was considered cool enough for a dog to be left in a car, and if she was just being a worry-wart. She wrote an email to the eople at Pets Teach Us So Much, and asked them what they thought. So, they wrote about it in their blog, and they're going to discuss it in their podcast tomorrow evening.
What do you think? Do your humans leave you in the car when it is seventy degrees? Our Mama never leaves us alone in the car because she worries that someone would steal us (because we are such highly valuable dogs and cats!) but she knows many people do leave dogs in the car when they stop at the grocery store or go out to eat. We wondered, if your humans saw a dog in a car on a fairly cool day, what they would do or think.
Thats it for now! We love you, friends!

Smarty Sunday: KEEP Your Pets Smart!

ATTENTION: DON'T FORGET OUR FLAXYPET GIVEAWAY GOING ON RIGHT NOW! TWO DOGS AND TWO CATS WILL WIN FLAXUSA PRODUCTS! GOOD LUCK! 


Hi everyone! Its me, Sammy-Joe, with your weekly installment of Smarty Sunday! Every Sunday I try to find away to make you a little bit smarter!


This week I wanted to talk to you about helping your pets to stay smart. Some of the symptoms I'm about to talk about might make you feel sad... but keep reading, because there is better news ahead!


We all know that some humans can get Alzheimer's Disease, which makes them forget more and more things over time. You may not know that pets can also get something similar, called Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome. Veterinary experts mostly know about it in dogs, but it also occurs in cats. In dogs, symptoms may start appearing when they are over the age of 8. Cats often live longer than dogs, and our symptoms might not start showing up until we are 12. 


There is an acronym for the symptoms of Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome. The acronym is DISH.
D= Disorientation. A dog may seem lost or confused even in his own house or yard, or forget what he's supposed to be doing outside; fail to respond to his name; act like he doesn't recognize his familiar humans; or do things like try to go through the wrong side of the doggie door or the hinge side of a door. A cat might show confusion by not recognizing his familiar humans, forgetting where his litter box, food and water are, or getting "stuck" in places and forgetting how to get out. 
I=Interactions. The way a dog or cat interacts with people and other pets may change. They may not be as outgoing or attention seeking as they used to be, and maybe seem less enthusiastic when they greet you. 
S=Sleep Disturbances. They may sleep more during the day and less at night (when they used to do the opposite.) You may hear your dog pacing around all night, or your cat meowing and crying at night. 
H=House training. Pets might start having accidents around the house, even though they used to be house trained. Dogs may forget to ask to go outside, or they may go outside, and forget what they were supposed to do, then go inside the house and have an accident. Cats may forget where their litter box is or forget that they are supposed to use it. 


Okay. Those are the signs of Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome in pets. But you need to know that it can be delayed, prevented, and even treated!


One of the best ways to delay or prevent Cognitive Dysfunction in your pets is to keep their minds stimulated. The best way to do this is with interaction. When you are not interacting with your pets, they are often just sitting around. Even if you let your dogs outside to play, they may just sit around out there because you are not there for them to impress! Take dogs for regular walks so they can see, smell, hear and interact with new things. Play with your dogs and cats every day. Its not just for our amusement, but for our health! 


If you are gone during the day, you can still keep your pets stimulated by providing challenging toys. For instance, you can buy or make toys that dispense treats or pet food as your pet plays with them. You can even hide these around the house so your pets have to hunt for them! Rotating toys regularly can also keep us stimulated. Even if we own a hundred toys, if it is the same hundred toys year after year, we can get bored. It is better to give us five toys for a few weeks, and then a few new and different toys for a few weeks. We know some of our bloggy pet friends have humans that put away certain toys and take them out only at certain times, so that they stay exciting and special to the pets! 


If you have an indoor cat, you might like to put a bird feeder near a window, where your cat can see out and watch the birds. We also enjoy cat trees with lots of hiding spaces and things to climb on! 


You should also continue training us. Just like humans should be lifelong learners, so should pets! Work with us and teach us new tricks and habits, on a regular basis. 


Our diets can also make a difference. We should eat foods that are low in fat, and rich in Vitamins E and C, fruits and vegetables, and Omega-3 (Hey, see our FlaxyPet giveaway for more info about Omega-3!  


If we do begin to show signs of Cognitive Dysfunction, there are medications available, and also a prescription pet food, that can help make the symptoms less severe. 


So, everyone go play with your pets! Have fun and enjoy us, because that will help us to live healthier, happier lives!

We Made Flax and Parmesan Dog Treats!

Hi everyone! Yesterday when we wrote about our FlaxyCat and FlaxyDog giveaway, we promised you a recipe for dog treats using flaxseeds. So here it is! By the way, we found this recipe (and somewhat adapted it for our own attention spans) from DogTreatKitchen.com. 


First you should turn on your oven to 400 degrees, to get it preheated. 


Here are your ingredients: Flax Seeds (We're using some of our FlaxyDog, of course!), water, and Parmesan Cheese. You will also need a baking tray, parchment paper, and an oven. And something to mix the dough with, like a spoon.

Mix 1 CUP of Flaxseeds with 1/2 CUP of Water. Add about 1/2 A CUP of Parmesan cheese. Mix it and knead it until it resembles dough. Mama forgot to take a picture of this, so use your imagination! 


Place a piece of parchment paper onto a baking tray. Set the dough on top of the paper. 

Cover this with a second piece of parchment paper. You can actually roll the dough while it is between the two sheets of parchment paper, if you want to avoid making a mess! If you don't have a rolling pin, you can use a jar of peanut butter. Thats what our Mama did! 

Pop the whole thing into the oven! 

Its now time to wait impatiently in front of the oven for 15 whole minutes! 

Finally, take the batch out of the oven! You can cut or tear into pieces that are just the right sizes for the dogs in your house. And don't forget to label them DOG TREATS so the humans don't steal them! (We did find the exact same recipe on a HUMAN health food site, so... the humans might really try to steal these! 

Remember to enter our giveaway if you'd like to win some FlaxyDog or FlaxyCat for yourselves! The deadline is next Friday, March 4, at 3:00 pm Central. Good luck! 


PS. We have an EMERGENCY BLOGATHON coming up starting on March 5 to raise money for an Almost Home dog named Apollo who needs expensive medical treatment. We're going to be raffling off lots of great items during those ten days. Each raffle entry will be $1.00 (so if you donated $10.00, you could enter ten times, either spending ten tickets on one item or spreading them out throughout the ten days!) We have some great companies donating things, PLUS our Mama has come up with a few creative things to raffle off too... so please save the date! :)

Review and Giveaway: FlaxyCat and FlaxyDog

Hi everyone! We got something new in the mail today and we get to share it with you!

Sometimes we hear humans talking about how flaxseeds are good for them. Flax seeds are full of fiber, which helps with your digestion and can help prevent things like hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes. Flax seeds also have lots of protein and vitamins in them. And they have lots of Omega-3, which is really good for humans. It can reduce their risk of things like heart disease and stroke. We know of humans who like to mix flaxseeds in with their foods, or use it in recipes.


But we just found out that flaxseeds are also good for pets!


The people from FlaxUSA sent us some samples of their FlaxyCat and FlaxyDog products. Our Mama has been sprinkling some of it into our food every day. It doesn't change the taste of our food at all... although for some reason we all get really excited when we see her mixing it into our bowls! We know that the flax in our food is giving us all the same benefits that humans can get from it, like healthier hearts and better digestion. Eating it regularly can give us healthier joints, healthier skin, shiny coats, more energy, and faster healing when we do get sick.


Our Mama told us that huskies that are sled dogs are given flax oil regularly because it helps give them strength and energy, and helps to heal their paws. (Apparently they get lots of little cuts on their paws from all that running in snow and ice!)


Mama also read that Omega-3 (which is found in flaxseeds) can help stop the growth of cancerous tumors in pets. Can you believe that? She read that tumors can use simple carbohydrates (found in regular white flour, and sugar) to grow larger... but they cannot use the complex carbohydrates found in flaxseeds.


Eating flax can also help pets with allergies, itchy skin, and even mild arthritis!


We learned something else too. We know a lot of our friends who like to make their own dog treats. Did you know you can actually replace all or some of the flour in these recipes with flax? Or just add some flax into the recipe! Then your treats are not only delicious, but healthy too! Mama said tomorrow she is going to bake some treats for us using the flax seeds, just to show all of you how it can be done! (She would have done it today, but she had a lot of homework, and now Gramma is on her way home from work, and Mama cannot bake when Gramma is around because Gramma makes her too nervous! LOL!)


FlaxUSA has a special way of preparing their flax so it's at its healthiest. First, they use high quality flaxseeds grown by North Dakota farmers near where their business is located. They choose to use Golden Omega Flaxseed, as opposed to Brown Flaxseed, because the Golden kind has a better flavor that blends well with foods. The Brown kind can make foods taste bitter.


They clean the seeds rigorously. Then they grind the flaxseeds using a special method called Real Cold Milled, which keeps the flax fresh for 22 months. Other, more common ways of grinding the flaxseeds can take away the effectiveness of the Omega-3s and cause the flax to not last as long.


The FlaxUSA people also sent us four extra containers of flax. Guess why? So some of you can try it out too! We have two containers of FlaxyDog and two containers of FlaxyCat. Follow the directions to enter the giveaway. On Friday, March 4, at 5:00 pm Central, we will choose four winners to send the containers to!


DIRECTIONS FOR ENTRY
1. Leave a comment. Make sure, in your comment, to give us a way to contact you. If you comment with your Blogger profile or other url, we can find you at your blog even if you don't give us your email. But some people just comment anonymously, as, say, MIKE... with no email, or link, or anything!
2. In your comment, let us know if you want to enter for the FlaxyDOG, FlaxyCAT, or BOTH.
3. You get one free entry just for being you. Here's how to get extra entries... and if you do any of these things, let us know in your comment.
    - Visit the FlaxUSA website and tell us one interesting thing you saw there.
    - "Like" FlaxUSA on Facebook.
    - Find a recipe for a dog or cat food or treat that includes Flax, and post it in a comment here. (That will get you TWO extra entries!)


Good luck, everyone! We hope you win!