• http://www.lackland.af.mil/units/341stmwd/index.asp - Lackland AFB, official website for MWD adoptions
• http://www.militaryworkingdogadoptions.com/
• http://www.militaryworkingdogs.com/

People with senior dogs know how much easier they can be than the young ones! Even if they have fewer years left with us, Muttville is committed to providing stable, loving environments for those last years instead of resigning them to euthanization.

They not only focus on adopting out senior dogs, but educate the public about how to care for their own older dogs.

• http://www.muttville.org/
• T-shirt shop

Video by Kelsey Wynns. http://vimeo.com/kelseywynns
I love the sheer happiness of this video.

]]> http://www.knowdog.net/?feed=rss2&p=193 0 http://www.knowdog.net/?p=203 http://www.knowdog.net/?p=203#comments Thu, 01 Mar 2012 07:00:38 +0000 Holly http://www.knowdog.net/?p=203 Established in 2002, The Grace Foundation is located in El Dorado Hills, California and rescues dogs, cats, horses, and livestock of all kinds. Their massive, 600 acre facility is worth visiting just to see it and interact with the animals. You’ll be greeted by farm dogs (many of which are adoptable), Moses the donkey, Milkshake the cow, and a variety of horses and farm animals.

I’ve been here a couple of times, and the whole facility is just amazing. They’ve taken in animals from many high-profile cases – the most recent is the massive group of horses out of Susanville, many of which are pregnant.

Rescuing animals isn’t their only focus – they have many animals they keep on site for their youth therapy programs, veterinary education, and many other programs. They focus on at-risk youth and people of all ages who are living with autism and other challenges.

If you would like to donate to Grace, they always accept monetary donations, fencing and shelter materials, animal food and supplies, volunteers, and foster homes for cats and dogs.

• http://thegracefoundationofnorcal.org/
• How you can support Grace
• The Grace Foundation wishlist

Titan – Chihuahua Mix
Woodland, CA
Rotts of Friends 

My name is Titan and I’m an adorable 2 year old old, neutered male pug / chihuahua mix. I’ve got the pug body but my face has more of the Chihuahua look. In other words I’m really cute!! I’m a very friendly little guy. I was part of a family but they had to give me up when their house went into foreclosure. The animal Shelter people thought I were so adorable that they called Rotts of Friends. I’m very good with people and I play well with other small dogs! I might do well with larger dogs but since I just arrived they haven’t had time to test me. I love to go for walks and be with people. I’m very healthy, up to date on my shots and microchipped. I come with free lifetime obedience training classes. 

I love this little guy because if you check out their website, Rotts of Friends has tons of big dogs – mostly Rotties and Pits – and here’s little Titan. I love that the rescue offers lifetime obedience classes because it’s just as important for a small dog to have manners as it is for a large one! Unfortunately, the shelters and rescues are almost overtaken by Chihuahuas as they’ve skyrocketed in popularity – and then people realize that they’re dogs, not accessories.

To learn more about Titan and the other dogs at Rotts of Friends, please visit their website.
rottsoffriends.com

And yet when you read the back of the bag, it’s filler with vegetables and protein further down the ingredients list. It’s just enough that they can say it contains them.

When you read the ingredients on anything (both pet food and people food) the first item listed is the densest ingredient. If it lists corn, for example, then by weight there is more corn, which is essentially a filler that the U.S. has a surplus of.

Here is the ingredient list for Beneful.

Ingredients:

Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, water, animal digest, salt, phosphoric acid, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), l-lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium carbonate, calcium propionate (s preservative), choline chloride, vitamin supplements (E, A, B12, D3), added color (yellow #5, red #40, yellow #6, blue #2), dl-methionine, zinc sulfate, glyceryl monostearate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, manganese sulfate, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, copper sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.

Holy. Crap.

The first four ingredients are fillers. Corn, corn gluten meal, and wheat flour are extremely common allergens in dogs and not something necessary in their diet. It’s surplus that we have here in the U.S. so it’s extremely cheap for the manufacturers. Chicken by-product meal is exactly that – by-products. It isn’t the meat, it’s chicken remnants from plants that process chicken for human consumption. Real meat and a few veggies are way down the list (and additional soy, another allergen), and yet the bag pictures lovely meat and vegetables waterfalling down the front. The salt content outweighs the vegetables!

How much will this bag of nothing cost you? About $15.00 for 7lbs.

Let’s look at a comparable bag of Merrick’s Whole Earth Farms, it’s not a grain free food or particularly fancy.

Ingredients:

Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Oat Meal, Pearled Barley, Ground Rice, Ground Millet, Ground Barley, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Duck, Buffalo, White Fish, Natural Chicken Liver Flavor, Salmon Oil (a natural source of Omega-3, Docosahexaenoic Acid-DHA)*, Organic Alfalfa Sun-cured ground, Yeast Culture, Tomato Pomace Dried, Dried Egg, Organic Sunflower Seed Ground, Salt, Calcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Lysine, Blueberry Dried, Cranberry Dried, Yucca Schidigera Extract,Inulin (from Chicory Root), Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Cinnamon, Marigold Dried, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus casei, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Lecithin, Riboflavin, Supplement, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.

You can still see grain (no corn or wheat though), but the first two ingredients are chicken and turkey. This is definitely what you want to see, and there’s even more protein sources down the list – among the fruits and veggies that are more toward the top.

How much will this non-fancy but much healthier food cost you? About $11.00 for 8lbs.

Beneful (and similar companies) are charging you more for nothing. Their ads outright lie but are in the legal amount of these ingredients. The companies choose aggressive advertising campaigns instead of putting that money toward a quality product. It’s so easy for people to think that they’re buying their dog a healthy food based on those ads and inflated price, and we really can’t trust them. The only way to get reliable, truthful information is to read the actual ingredients yourself.

Cici is a very special dog. She came to us with her 7 pups from the Sac City shelter. All her pups have been adopted and now she needs a forever home. She has been with us for almost 3 months now and has become our mascot but that’s no life for this beautiful girl. We have kept her from being posted because she needed to recover from her pups and spay and now we feel she is ready to go home. What she needs is a safe home where she can have room to run but needs to be supervised when out side because she is a jumper. But she jumps to get to you(us) if left alone outside. In a home she is perfect, loves her create, totally potty trained, doesn’t chew. She can be protective of her place and people, but is easily corrected and very smart.

It sounds like Cici does need some training, but has a great base to start with and would probably love an active household. Keep in mind that large black dogs are often harder to place for a variety of reasons, but often they just don’t photograph well! This is a beautiful photo of her and a great example of how good photography can help when it comes to adoptions.

Please visit the Grace Foundation’s website for more information!
thegracefoundationofnorcal.org

Do:

• Use the crate at night. Puppies and recently adopted dogs shouldn’t have too much freedom to wander around your house while you’re asleep. The small space will encourage puppies or dogs that aren’t yet houstrained to hold it until you take them out in the morning. Many dogs end up seeing the crate as their den of sorts and as they get older will go right in with no need for you to lock the crate door.
•  Make it a positive experience. Have one specific chew, treat or treat-dispensing toy that they only get when they’re in their crate. After a while you’ll find that they’ll be excited to run right in there!
• Make it a sanctuary. Like any of us, dogs need a spot to call their own and retreat from the world when things get too chaotic or they’re tired. Children shouldn’t be allowed to play in there or harass the dog while they’re in their “safe spot”. Keep it accessible for your dog should they choose to hide in there. Puppies should get some mandatory quiet time there after being played with, just like you would give a small child a nap.

Don’t:

I was raised in a household that stressed rescuing animals. We rescued domestic animals, livestock, wild critters through Sierra Wildlife Rescue – we did it all. We certainly never bred our dogs just for the sake of breeding, so the fact that people I know want to do just that has been surprising to me as I’ve gotten older.

Now I totally understand wanting to have a puppy experience, I really do. The squirmy little guys are just adorable, and though they require a lot of care and checking up on, it’s a fun experience to have. There are inherent problems with breeding your own dog, though.

First and foremost, if you have the female, you’re putting her life and health at risk. It is entirely possible for births to go wrong and have complications, especially if you’re not a seasoned breeder and know what to expect. Are you going to be able to pay a massive veterinary bill if she needs a c-section or something happens? You also have to bear in mind that you don’t know what traits you’re breeding into this group of puppies, whether it’s a health problem or bad personality trait.

Most people who want to breed their dogs intend on keeping one of the puppies, and that’s great. But what about the rest? Do you know if they’re going to good homes? What happens if you can’t find homes for all of them, what will you do with them then? It absolutely is something you should think about before putting more dogs out there in the world.

Fortunately, there’s an awesome alternative to this.

If you want the puppy experience, foster a pregnant rescue dog. There can never be enough foster families, and dogs of all breeds and sizes regularly come in to rescues and shelters expecting a litter. A crowded shelter is a terrible place for any pet to give birth, and the risk of disease is high. If the dog can give birth in a quiet, private environment, it’s so much better for her and the puppies as well.

Instead of intentionally putting more dogs out into the world and putting your dog’s health at risk, you’ll be doing a massive service to multiple lives. There’s no obligation to keep any of the dogs, the rescue will do the work in finding adopters for you. You get to have the experience, and you’ll know you did something to help puppies that might not have had a chance otherwise.

It turns out it was just the high sugar and fat in her system. It sort of makes you wonder why See’s is so damn expensive when it doesn’t really contain much chocolate, doesn’t it?

There are some other very common “people foods” that can be very harmful to your dog, and your vet may not have informed you of what they are.

1. Chocolate.
This is the big one that most people are aware of. Chocolate is dangerous not just due to the high sugar and fat, but cacao. It contains theobromine, which is a toxic diuretic and cardiac stimulant.
Generally the more bitter the chocolate is, the more dangerous. White chocolate is just packed full of sugar, but baking cocoa has a high amount of cacao. The dangerous amounts depend on your dog’s weight, so what might not hurt a Saint Bernard will definitely poison a Chihuahua.

2. Onions.
Onions contain thiosulphate, that in larger doses can cause red blood cells to rupture, which in turn causes anemia.
Again, the toxicity depends on the amount eaten. Raw onions are the worst offenders, but be aware of feeding your dog foods or sauces that contain them.
Garlic also contains thiosulphate, but the amount eaten is much higher. In smaller amounts garlic can actually prevent fleas, so there’s definitely two camps on that one. Stay away from the onions though!

3. Grapes & Raisins.
There is an unknown as-of-yet substance in grapes/raisins that causes renal failure in dogs. The most frightening part is that it can be a large amount that causes it, or even just a handful.
Sadly, I personally have met people who fed their dog raisins as treats. Though they survived the initial poisoning, the renal failure affected them for the rest of their lives.
If you want to give your dog a dried-fruit treat, dried cranberries are texturally similar and have great health benefits.

4. Macademia Nuts.
Macademia and other nuts with high phosphorous content are thought to cause kidney stones in dogs.

5. Xylitol.
Xylitol is an artificial sweetener commonly found in chewing gum. It causes spiked insulin levels and can possibly damage the liver, and it only takes a small amount to be deadly.

Remember to always keep an eye on what your pet is eating, and if your dog shows signs of food poisoning or you find gum wrappers all over the floor, call your vet. It’s much better to be safe than sorry in this situation!