Recently Alaska Naturals came out with two new salmon oil products. One has added probiotics, the digestive enzymes that help normal gut flora, like in yogurt. Probiotics help with digestion and keep the good bacteria normally found in the gut balanced. The second is salmon oil with added glucosamine, chondroitin, and MSM to aid in bone and joint health.

All of the Alaska Naturals items are located in our refrigerator in the back of the store.

Just as humans at times your pet can be “gassy” but there are a few things you can try to over come the frequency of your pet’s episodes. Many times the reason behind the gas is due to your pet swallowing too much air at mealtime. You can try to split up your pet’s meals into a few smaller ones, and/or you can try a special pet food bowl. We sell bowls called Brakefast. They are designed to make your pet eat slower by having them eat around these cone shaped protuberances in the bowl.

You can also try switching the protein your pet is eating. Every pet’s body chemistry is different and reacts to different proteins in a variety of ways. You can also try giving your dog prebiotics and probiotics. These are digestive enzymes that help promote the growth of friendly bacteria like yogurt does. We have a couple of products with the digestive enzymes the first is called Gentle Digest by Ark Naturals. Not only does it help with gas, but is beneficial with a plethora of things. The second product we have with digestive enzymes is a treat called Fart Busters.

Finally it is good for your pet to have a lot of exercise. Not only will they be letting it out outdoors, but exercise also helps to promote digestion and gets gas to move through the system instead of building up. These are some things you can try, but please check with your vet and make sure that there is not an underlying problem with your pet.

There are a few ways in which I have tried to add water to my cats diet. Wet food is a great and healthy way to get fluids into your cat. However, feeding your cat just wet food can get to be expensive. So I supplement wet food into her diet with dry food. What I have found to work on my cat, is to add a little water to her dry food. Sometimes I even crush up one of her favorite freeze dried salmon treats along with the water and dry food, and mix it up to make more of a broth. She really loves that. I’ll even add water to her wet food and mix it together.

These are a few things I have tried, but if anyone else has more suggestions on what has worked for their cats please let us know.

We sell two types of toys that are guaranteed by the manufacturer. The first is called a GoughNut. The GoughNut is a rubber ring that comes in green or black. If your dog chews to the red core, you send it back to the manufacturer and get a one time free replacement. The second toy is a line of three different shapes called Zogoflex by West Paw Design. These are also rubber and will be replaced by the manufacturer one time as well.

If your dog is not into rubber toys we do have some chews that may work for her or him. Beef pizzles are one of our long lasting chews. They do not make a mess on the floor and dogs love them. However, the longest lasting chew we recommend to try is a deer antler. The antlers we carry are naturally shed and come in many different sizes. We have had a lot of positive feedback on both types of chews, and they are a safe and healthy alternative to rawhide chews.

Most of these messes were on carpeting. Fortunately, I had some great cleaning products on hand — Crypton Stain & Odor Remover and Fizzion Pet Stain & Odor Remover — to help with the clean up. Fizzion is a cool new cleaning product that comes in the form of a concentrated tablet. Add the tablet to water to instantly create fizzy cleaning solution that works great on pet stains.

Once the carpets were clean it was time to tackle the two new dog beds. No problem. Both beds have removable, machine washable covers. The Molly Mutt bed is actually just a duvet cover that is stuffed with some old blankets. The “stuff sack” inner lining makes it very easy to remove the duvet cover for washing. And the Dog Gone Good Sherpa bed looks like new after its first machine washing.

Wholesome Hide Rawhides

It’s ok to give your dog rawhide if you choose to. However, there are certain qualities to look for in a good rawhide. The Whole Dog Journal (May, 2009) outlined a few of these qualities to look for. It is better to look for a rawhide that is made from one strip of material. Otherwise you can get rawhide made from many different pieces compressed together and then rolled in another piece. The pieces can easily break apart and your dog can potentially choke on them or have other digestive problems from them. A rawhide roll that is made from one piece looks like a continuous swirl.

It is also good to look at the color of the rawhide. Artificial colors are not good for our furry friends. The rawhide should be a white color or a natural color. If it is too white, it could be due to a lot of bleaching, which is also a sign of low quality.

Here at Katzenbarkers we carry Wholesome Hide, which holds up to the high standards of Whole Dog Journal.