I remember the day when I became more conscious of what's really in pet foods.

That day, I opened the dog food bag to feed my dog dinner. I scooped some food and noticed a tiny white stick-like object sticking out of a kibble. It looked to me like a chicken feather. Since I didn't know much about the quality of pet foods back then (I had only learned there were good quality pet foods and not-so-good quality pet foods on the market), I wasn't alarmed at first (I was told the pet food I was using was a premium food! I assumed it was a high quality food.). I gradually started looking for information on what kinds of ingredients are usually used in pet foods. As I became more knowledgeable, I was surprised by the fact that a lot of low-quality ingredients can end up in pet foods.

The object I found in the dog food kibble might've been part of a chicken feather. I can't say exactly just because it looked like a feather part to me. It could've been something else. But what I found was worth doing more research on my own. I learned about "by-products" used in many pet foods. By-products include any animal part other than meat, such as lungs, hooves, liver, kidney, hair, skin, intestines and so on. Considering the fact that in the wild carnivores eat these as a part of their wholesome diet, some people may say there is nothing wrong with pet foods containing by-products. But what if pet food manufacturers use by-products as a dominant source of protein in their foods? (There is no way of telling the exact amount. Nutritional value of by-products is often questionable.) Shawn Messonnier, D.V.M mentions in his book 8 Weeks to a Healthy Dog that "as the price of the pet food decreases, the reliance of the manufacturer on byproducts (especially less desirable byproducts) increases, since byproducts are much less expensive than muscle meats or fish...the amino acid content (remember, amino acids are the important building blocks of protein) of ingredients like hair, hooves, intestines, and various connective tissues can't possibly meet even the minimum needs of a pet."

I guess I was lucky in a way that I had found the feather-like part in the dog food kibble back then. Although I had been told that the brand I bought for my dog was a premium dog food, I found out later that it wasn't the best kind. That led me to do more research on pet foods...

Life's Abundance Premium Health Food for Dogs and Cats contain chicken -- only muscle meats. No by-products.

If you are pet lovers, you probably take lots of pictures of your pets. Thanks to the digital camera, I enjoy taking pictures of my dog and cat whenever I feel like it.

I must confess...I'm not a good photographer when it comes to my pets. Do you take good pictures of your pets? They won't pose for your camera, will they? I have to take tons of pictures to get one good-looking picture (I guess I shouldn't feel so bad about taking a lot of crappy pictures because I hear even professional photographers must do this...).

I looked up information on how to take good pictures of my cat and dog. I found several pieces of useful information on this topic. What I learned new is to "get down at the eye level of your pets". I remember spending the majority of time taking pictures of my pets from "my" eye level -- taking their pictures from above. Just like you kneel down to take photos of children, you should lower your eye level to that of your pets. Now that I think of it, all my pets' photos I took from their eye level are usually my favorites.

The general tips on taking good pet photos are:

• Get down on your knees to the eye level of your pet
  
• Take lots of pictures
  
• Get close to your pets
  
• Use natural light
  
• Use a simple background

And so on...

The following web pages offer great tips on how to take good photos of your pets:
Photographing animals
How to take Pet Portraits
Practice Makes Perfect
How to Take Digital Pictures of Pets

The recent news has spread nationwide that contaminated pet food produced by a well-known pet food company has resulted in the death of at least 100 dogs. I have a very deep sympathy for the pet owners who lost their beloved animal companions. For all the rest of the pet owners who feed various brands of pet foods for their dogs and cats, I believe that this devastating news has taught us a very important lesson:

The pet food labels you see on your pet food bags don't tell you everything about what's actually going on in the food.

The real quality of pet foods should start from the very beginning -- from the quality of raw ingredients that pet food manufacturers get before they start processing their foods at their facilities.

For example, suppose you found two types of dog foods at a pet food store. Both of them use almost the same ingredients according to the list of their food labels. You can't decide which one is good for your dog. You might think, "Well, since they use the same ingredients, why don't I buy a cheaper one and get a better bargain?"

You might have heard the expression "You get what you pay for." This applies to the pet food industry, too.

The pet food labels can only tell you so much within the limited space on the bag, although it does help you recognize the quality of the food to a good degree. The quality of pet foods usually goes beyond what the food labels tell you. Pet food manufacturers that produce high-quality premium pet foods usually do a lot of "behind-the-scenes" work before the foods reach your pets' bowls. Such companies have quality control programs established. They make sure that their ingredients are fresh (and not rancid) and they are free from contamination such as toxic molds through multiple strict tests before they start cooking their pet foods. Of course, they do more testing after cooking to make sure their pet food is nutritionally balanced.

It's easy to read ingredients on the label, but it's almost impossible to know what these ingredients looked like before they were made into pet foods. Unfortunately all you can do is trust the company. I believe that the price of pet foods is one good indicator of the pet food manufacturers' efforts in creating high-quality products. The company also should put pets' health the top priority. I believe that the safety of products (in this case, pet food) depends on where the company puts their priorities. Please choose your pet food company wisely.

More and more people today feel that keeping dogs chained to a stake outside all day is a cruel thing to do. I completely agree. I can't stand the idea of tying my dog to one spot outside, even for just one day. It doesn't seem humane to me. Chaining your pet outside all day certainly is not a holistic way of taking care of your pets if you want to keep them healthy and happy.

With that said, I must say that I had been conditioned to think differently about pet care when I was growing up. It didn't occur to me some treatments can be inhumane or even cruel. I didn't experience a change in my conditioning about pet care until I came to live in the United States. Looking back, I can't believe that I used to believe (or, at least, not doubt) certain things about pet care in my native country. I'm a little embarrassed talking about this, but the important experience taught me a lesson that what one believes is right at the time may turn out to be incorrect or inhumane in the future, or at least considered differently in other countries. Keeping an open and yet sensible mind is essential in pet care.

As I grew up in Japan, I didn't doubt dogs being kept chained to stakes outside houses because that's what many Japanese dog owners used to do to their dogs all the time. I assume that there are many years of cultural history involved behind this custom. Dog specialists in Japan may have their own theories about why many dog owners leave their dogs outside tied, but this is what I think:

First, floor cleanliness in typical traditional Japanese houses is very important -- you even have to take off your shoes as soon as you go inside. Instead of carpet, the floors are usually furnished with tatami (special mattresses made of straw). Doors are often made of paper material and slide back and forth instead of opening like a western-style door. Walls are painted with specific material that crumbles easily if scratched. The traditional Japanese house structures are just not built with medium to large sized animals like dogs in mind.

Second, the majority of Japanese houses don't have fenced back yards. The crowded Japanese housing conditions don't allow that much free space. The typical back yard in America is bigger than the average household plot in some Japanese areas!

Third, original purpose of owning dogs in Japan was probably for protecting livestock animals from predators or thieves (Japan was a poor country for centuries). It must've been more convenient for the dog owners to keep the dogs outside and possibly even free to roam in the olden days. It's not hard to imagine Japanese breed dogs such as Shiba Inu or Akita were bred to be very loyal to the owners but somewhat indifferent or reserved to strangers. Plus, their thick coats help them survive cold winter days outside. Dogs were probably considered outside animals for a long time in Japan.

I believe that such cultural concepts still remain in Japanese people's psyches even now -- but things have been changing. The lifestyle of the Japanese has drastically changed over the past decade. More people are starting to live in western-styled houses. Small breed dogs are getting more popular. These fit in Japanese housing conditions better, allowing them to be kept inside the house, close to the dog owners all the time! More and more people are aware what owning pets means to them. I have a feeling that fewer dog owners may tie their dogs to a stake outside in the future.

Although I said many dogs are left outside tied to a stake, it doesn't necessarily mean that they don't love their dogs or don't give their dogs enough attention. It's just how the culture often conditions dog owners' way of thinking. (I remember my boss always told me how cute, funny and smart his dog was and how much his entire family loved the dog, yet the dog was kept outside all day every day, chained to a stake. I bet my boss had no clue that tying his dog to a stake was a cruel thing. He just didn't think of it in this way.)

In his book Kindred Spirits, Allen M. Schoen D.V.M. describes his experience of castrating a bull. The bull's owner hadn't known that there was a more humane way of doing it without the animal going through a lot of pain. (Basically the owner had believed that the only way of castrating the bull was to tie a bull to a tree and just cut off the testicles.) Dr. Schoen suggested the use of a mild sedative to alleviate the bull's pain, which made the owner feel guilty of not considering it before. He simply didn't know an alternative existed. Dr. Schoen says, "It wasn't that people didn't care if their animals suffered. Most of them had simply never been offered another - painless - option."

Many books and articles on pets recently talk about how cruelly some cultures treat dogs by keeping them chained to a stake. I agree. It is cruel. I just wanted to add more to the stories about why people (in this case, pet owners) do what they do. It takes time for things to change - especially for the better. It took me many years to learn such things and re-condition my thinking.

There was a time when I always thought that supplementing my diet meant just taking vitamins and minerals. I remember swallowing vitamin pills day after day, many years ago. No doubt taking vitamins and minerals by itself is important, but what I didn't know back then is that making sure your body's foundation is ideal for absorbing such vitamins and minerals is equally important. How do you do it? Taking probiotics is one way, among others.

What are probiotics? "probiotics" means "for life". Probiotics are "friendly" bacteria that reside in your intestine and help keep your bowel healthy. Probiotics contribute to health by promoting better digestion of food and absorption of nutrients. You can find Probiotics in ordinary foods. Yogurt, for example, usually contains friendly bacteria of this sort. Probiotic supplements are often seen in health food stores. (By the way, "antibiotics" means "against life" Though useful for some things, using antibiotics for a long period of time can also discourage friendly bacteria from living in the intestinal tract.) For more information on probiotics, click here.

One of the features of "Life's Abundance Premium Health Food for Dogs and Cats" is that these foods contain five different types of probiotics. I think that using probiotics as one of the key ingredients makes this pet food very unique and special in today's pet food market. More and more holistic veterinarians are recommending the use of probiotics for pets.

As one of our health regimen, my husband and I have been taking probiotics every day for over three years. Since I started feeding our pets "Life's Abundance Premium Health Food", our dog and cat are included in this family health plan. Good bowels promote good health!

As I mentioned in an earlier entry, I'm big on oral care in general - including the teeth of my pets, and especially my dog who likes to eat all kinds of foods and treats. I believe that taking care of pets' teeth and gums is one of many things pet owners can do for their precious pets every day to keep them healthy in the long run.

The other day, I bought dental tools designed for pets. They look somewhat like the tools dentists use. I started using them slowly so that it wouldn't intimidate my dog. My husband helped me by holding a flashlight directly pointing at the dog's teeth I was working on so that I could see the dog's teeth better. I could scrape off calculus on the dog's teeth more effectively with the tools. I kept on scraping as I verbally praised my dog for being so calm and cooperative. After I was done, I didn't forget to reward my dog by playing with her for a while.

At present, the main things I do at home for taking care of my dog's teeth and gums are:

• Brushing - this is the primary thing I focus on daily. I can check my dog's gums as well as her teeth. Use only toothpaste designed for pets. Never use human toothpaste.
  
  
• Chewable treats - My dog enjoys them, and they help scrape off plaque. I use pork-hide which is healthy alternative to rawhide. The porkhide (the product I use for my dog is Dental Chews) is easier to digest than rawhide and provides a safer chew texture that helps to remove food debris and tartar build up.
  
  
• Dental tools designed for pets - as I mentioned above, they have been added to the tooth care for my dog recently. I'm thankful that my dog is at least cooperative (but not happy necessarily...). It's important that your dog get used to being handled inside his/her mouth in the first place. You'll probably also need to feel comfortable handling the tools and controlling the pets at the same time.

Of course, if your pets are not used to being handled in their mouths or are not cooperative, your pets will probably need their veterinarian's help more often for teeth clean-ups. You can also ask your vets about how to get your pets used to tooth brushing at home. Unsanitary teeth can harbor undesirable bacteria. Regular oral care is very important to keep your pets healthy and happy!