Stop Your Dog From Urinating In The House

No more dog urine in the house.

House training is a challenging part of dog ownership, and some breeds of dogs are more resistant to house training than others. Dogs urinate in the house due to inadequate house training, anxiety and the lingering smell of urine.

Dogs will also urinate inside if they are forced to wait too long to go outside. You can effectively house train your dog using positive, reward-based methods.

Follow these steps to house train your dog effectively:

Put your dog in a crate when you are not supervising it or are not home. Dogs are unlikely to soil the area in which they sleep unless it’s a true emergency, so keeping your dog in a crate deters it from urinating inside. Every time your dog urinates inside this encourages it to continue doing so, so preventing accidents is the first step in proper house training.

Take your dog outside at least every two hours when you first begin house training. You should also take your dog out when you get home, before you leave, after eating or drinking, after playtime and when your dog wakes up. When your dog urinates outside, praise him lavishly, click the training clicker and give your dog a treat. This teaches your dog to associate going outside with receiving a reward and will increase the frequency with which the dog goes outside.

Take your dog outside immediately if he has an accident. This helps your dog develop an association between urinating and being outside, and will discourage future accidents.

Remove the scent of urine from any places where your dog has urinated by using Clear the Air Odor Eliminator for Carpet/Furniture. Dogs are driven by scent and are far more likely to urinate in areas that smell like urine.

You can order our products online at www.cleartheair.com.  We currently have a promotion for the month of August: Buy 2 Get 2 Free of our Carpet/Furniture Odor Eliminator.  Simply add 4 canisters to your shopping cart, enter “carpetodor” into the redemption code and the price of two canisters is automatically taken away from your total.

Make Sure Your Home Is Ready To Sell

Clear the Air would like to share some helpful tips to selling your house.  Of course, if you experience any sort of odor in your home, Clear the Air is guaranteed to completely eliminate any and all odors.

1. Clean your house and keep it clean. If you are planning to live in your home while it is on the market, you have GOT to make daily cleaning a part of your selling plan.  It may be a pain to keep things spotless but cleanliness is important! A dirty home will give the potential buyers sense that the home is not well taken care of and can keep them from coming back a second time to look at your home with an offer.
2. Fix the broken stuff.  Shutter hanging off the house?  Piece of trim missing?  Door sticking?  Get it fixed!  If those little things are visible, your potential buyers start wondering what other maintenance issues your home might have and get scared. Make sure there wouldn’t be anything that could (1) keep buyers away and (2) knock dollars off of your asking price.
3. Eliminate odor from your home and make it smell good. Last thing you want is people to walk in your home and say, “It smells like feet in here.”  Guess what?  Each house was the home of boys but not everyone has to smell it!  Smell is very powerful and instantly sets the tone for your potential buyer’s experience in your house.  Avoid anything over-powering (some people are sensitive to strong perfumes) but find a way to make the air clean and homey.
4. De-personalize your home.  Want your  buyers to imagine themselves living in your house?  Then take YOU out of it!  You have got to take down your personal photos, scrapbooks, take down from the mantle the carving of your last name.  Buyers need to see their family living here … not yours.
5. De-clutter your home.  Potential buyers will turn their nose up at homes that had a lot of “stuff.”  Why?  They looked small.  They looked like they were running out of storage room.  They looked messy. The clutter keeps these homes from looking move-in ready. You want to make your home look spacious and ready to accommodate another family’s possessions.  Why would anyone want a house that appears to NOT have room for anything?
   
6. Utilize your garage or rent a storage room to hide bulky furniture. We packed away our piano, several chairs and extra side tables to highlight the space in our home.  You don’t want people bumping into furniture or having to turn sideways to get around. Likewise, take everything off your kitchen counters.
7. Make the exterior of your home look as good as possible.  Landscaping and the exterior of your home are just as important as the inside. Power-wash your house and sidewalk.  You can’t necessarily control the color of your brick but you can clean it, and doing so will take tons of dirt off and make your home instantly all the more inviting.  Freshen up beds with mulch.  Trim bushes and trees — especially those in front of any windows.  Overgrown shrubbery is not attractive and keeps natural light out of your home, making rooms feel dark and small.  Plant new flowers in your beds and/or add a few flower pots to your porch.  Flower brighten up your home and help your home feel welcoming.
8. Figure out your budget for any possible upgrades and cleaning services.  We can’t all afford to completely renovate our homes before putting it on the market but most of us can spend some money upgrading different aspects of our houses. Granite is cheaper than ever and, if you can afford it, a HUGE draw for buyers.  Can’t afford granite?  Well, what about repainting your kitchen or replacing outdated pulls and knobs?  Or spending a few bucks and a few hours to put in new ceramic tile?  If you can do the work yourself, you’ll save a ton of money and realize some updates are very easy (and cheap) to pull off.
9. Likewise, if you take a few minutes to research, you can find reputable carpet cleaners and window washers who will help get your house in ship-shape, making older carpet and windows fresh and sparking.
10. Get out of the house when it is being showed.  If you know a buyer is coming through — LEAVE! Take a walk, go to Target, head to the park but go somewhere so your buyers have the chance to consider your house for their future home.

Clear the Air Will Help Sell or Rent Your House Faster

Trying to Sell or Rent?

Property management companies and Real Estate Brokers and Agents deal with odor issues on a routine basis. Cigarette, pet, musty/mildew, dead rodent, and cooking odors are most common and make a home harder to sell or rent.

Real Estate is often slow selling/renting or discounted due to odor issues. It has been reported that approximately 5-10% of all listing have odor issues that may impact the sale. Clear The Air Odor Eliminators are an easy, inexpensive way to solve the problem and get your property sold or rented.

Clear The Air Odor Eliminators are an easy, inexpensive way to solve the problem and get your property sold or rented. Clear the Air does not have to come into contact with the odor producer; it will pull the odors from the carpet pad, and sub-floor. Clear The Air draws in odors like a powerful magnet. The odors are adsorbed, and neutralized without any fragrances. Clear The Air does not cover up odors; it literally “clears the air” leaving the air fresh and clean. Clear The Air is made from an all natural mineral, is non toxic and biodegradable and safe for Planet Earth. It is also safe around children and pets even if eaten.

Check out how to eliminate odors in a house:

• Hang 1 or 2 bags in each room that has odor. Some air circulation is best. One bag covers approximately 100 square feet. Bags will last approximately 3 months; we suggest leaving them up until house is sold/rented.
• If you have pet urine odors in the carpet (including cat urine) sprinkle Clear The Air Odor Eliminator for Cat Urine on carpet, tile, concrete, furniture, or any other surface. Leave down overnight; sweep or vacuum up and odor will be completely eliminated. One canister covers approximately 100 square feet.
• If you have odors outside on lawn or shrubs sprinkle Clear The Air Odor Eliminator for Lawns down. Leave down indefinitely, Clear The Air is an excellent nitrogen soil amendment. One canister covers approximately 100 square feet.
• If you have a dead rodent odor please click How to Eliminate Dead Rodent Odors PDF
• Many agents keep a case of bags in their trunk.

Dog Care Tips

If you are new to dog ownership or have had dogs all your life, there are some crucial tips which every dog owner needs to be aware of and sometimes reminded of.

While dogs are fun and loyal creatures, they can also be complex. It takes a fair amount of understanding to care for dogs—one that requires a lot more effort than just feeding them every day.  Check out our helpful dog care tips:

• Stay away from unhealthy additives: During your search, you’ll find lots of pet products that have been manufactured out of low quality ingredients and enhanced with artificial sweeteners. Avoid such option. Before you buy a product, go through the nutritional label to find out exactly what it contains.  Search for foods that are manufactured from healthy protein sources such as chicken or beef. Avoid foods that contain high percentages of bone meal.

• Don’t ignore fleas or ticks: Combined, fleas and ticks form a larger percentage of most canine health problems. Dogs that play outdoors are highly susceptible to these. Pay attention to your dog. If left untreated, ticks can go on to cause severe conditions such as anemia. Your dog may also spread the fleas and ticks to other members of the home.

• Give your dog somewhere cool to relax: Don’t just assign any resting place for your dog. Pick a spot in your home where your dog will get enough protection from the heat. Dogs are more prone to heat strokes than humans. Ensure that your dog gets enough water during the day, especially during the warmer months. Design a regular feeding schedule. This will help when the dog is being housebroken.

• Stock up on pet supplies and equipment: For the best living experience, take the time to get everything that you might need. For instance, it’s always advisable that you get your dog a collar. It doesn’t have to be very stylish but it should at least be comfortable. You can also get feeding bowls and pet wash supplies to make grooming easier.

It’s a “ruff” life…Part 2 of Why your dog barks

Wonder why your dog barks for certain reasons?

Clear the Air would like to share some helpful tips on learning about the behavior of your dog and why he barks.  Enjoy part 2 of our blog – taken from The San Diego Humane Society.

Request Barking

When they want something, dogs will experiment with various behaviors to see if any of them work. They quickly figure out that barking works with their owners. If you don’t like barking, stop rewarding it with attention, door-opening services, releasing from crates etc. Period. No buts.

Rather than the dog telling you when to take him out, take him out at regular intervals, making sure none of them are preceded by barking. Don’t let a barking dog out of a crate until he’s quiet. Ignore dogs who bark at you. Keep in mind that if you have been rewarding it for a while, the barking will get worse before it goes into extinction. You’re changing the rules and the dog will be frustrated at first. Whatever you do, don’t crack and reward the WORSE version of the barking!

Above all, start noticing the dog when he’s quiet. Teach him that there are payoffs for lying quietly, chewing on a chew-toy and refraining from barking.

Barking When Alone

This is a common form of request barking: the dog is requesting that you come back. There is also often some anxiety involved. When you get a new dog or puppy, set a good precedent right away. Don’t smother him with your constant presence and attention. Come and go a lot and never go to him when he’s vocalizing. Wait until he’s quiet for at least 30 seconds so you don’t risk rewarding the noise making. If your dog already has a habit, you must start a multi-pronged assault:

1) When you’re at home, don’t let him shadow you around: lock him in various rooms away from you to practice “semi-absences.” Reprimand or ignore any barking (ignoring is actually a more powerful tool). If you choose to reprimand it, burst through the door, scold the dog and then immediately disappear again, closing the door behind you. Remember that he’s barking to get you back: with some dogs, a reprimand is better than nothing so you may be rewarding him…

2) Practice loads of brief absences every day. Go out and come back in after 2 or 3 seconds over and over to get the dog desensitized to your departures. Do it in a matter of fact way, more or less ignoring the dog whatever he does. Then do outings of 10 seconds, 30, a minute, 10 minutes etc. Mix it up. Dogs who are anxious need to learn that your departure doesn’t usually mean a traumatically long period of isolation. Keep all your departures and arrival greetings low key. Never enter when the dog is barking. Wait for a lull of at least 30 seconds.

3) Dogs are a highly social species. They don’t cope well with prolonged isolation. Consider a second dog, daycare or dog-walker at lunchtime if you work all day.

4) Increase physical and mental stimulation. In a natural environment, a lot of your dog’s energy would be spent acquiring his food. He would have to find prey, run it down, hang onto and kill it and then rip it apart to eat it. He’d have to attempt several finds and run-downs before he successfully made a kill. That’s work! Tire him out more before long absences. Walks don’t cut it as exercise for dogs. Most dogs like getting out and checking out the environment but it’s not exercise. Exercise means exertion. Start working your dog out with high-intensity games like ball-fetch, Frisbee, tug-of-war, hide & seek, free-play with other dogs etc.

Make him work to acquire his food. Hide it around the house, scatter it in the grass in the backyard, make him extract it from the hollow inside of a bone or Kong toy (which you also hide), make him earn it piece by piece for obedience exercises or tricks, make him solve problems. Your imagination is the limit. Make your absences predict that his meal is hidden around the house so that he has to get busy when you leave if he wants to eat. Dogs are programmed to work for their food. It’s no wonder there are so many problems related to under stimulation.

5) Get him more focused on toys. When you play with him, incorporate toys. Hold chewies for him. Teach him to find a toy that you’ve hidden in the room and then celebrate his find with tug of war or fetch. Teach him his toys by name. Ask him to bring you one when you come home. Don’t greet him until he’s brought it.

Then have a vigorous game of fetch. Leave him stuffed chew toys during absences: fill hollow bones or Kongs with cheese, peanut butter, cookies or combos.

If your dog is anxious to the point of panic attacks, he has separation anxiety and need formal desensitization and/or medication. Contact a competent trainer.

Spooky Barking

In this case, it is important to get at the underlying under socialization. Socialize puppies extensively to as wide a variety of people and dogs as possible. You cannot overdo it. Expose them to plenty of places, experiences, sights & sounds and make it all fun with praise, games & treats. Find and attend a good puppy class.

If you missed the boat socializing your puppy, you’ll have to do remedial work with your adolescent or adult.

Whatever it is that your dog is spooky about must now become associated with lunch. This is how under socialized dogs work for their food. If he doesn’t like strangers, meals need to fed bit by bit around strangers until he improves. It takes a while to re-socialize adults so stick with it.

Boredom Barking

If you don’t have time for a dog, don’t get a dog. Dogs are not space-intensive, they are time-intensive. If you have an outside dog, train him to be an inside dog. There is no quick fix here: you must meet your dog’s basic needs for stimulation, exercise and companionship.

Why Your Dog Barks – Part 1

If you have a dog, most likely there have been times he or she barks excessively for a reason you are not sure of.

Clear the Air would like to share some helpful tips on learning about the behavior of your dog and why he barks.  This will be a two part blog touching on various reasons your dog barks.

This article was taken from the San Diego Humane Society.

Dogs bark for a variety of reasons:

1) Watchdog Barking serves the dual purpose of alerting pack members that there is an intruder and warning the intruder that they have been noticed.

2) Request Barking is the dog’s way of communicating to the owner that he would like something NOW.

Typical requests are “open the door NOW,” “pay attention to me NOW,” “let me out of here NOW,” “I wanna see that dog NOW” etc.

3) Spooky Barking occurs when the dog is uncomfortable about something in the environment and barks to say “I’m dangerous! Don’t come any closer!”

4) Boredom Barking can result when the dog’s daily needs for exercise and social stimulation are not met. The dog has gone essentially mad from boredom.

Controlling Excessive Barking:

Watchdog Barking

The standby technique is to teach the dog a competing response – such as fetching a certain toy or doing a down-stay on a mat (which cuts barking in many dogs) for tasty food rewards. Practice out of doorbell or “intruder” contexts first and then incorporate the game or command into real-life situations. The dog will need some coaching and prompting the first few times in the real-life situation so prepare to budget some time for that. Even better, set it up with a cohort to play “visitor,” so you can focus on the dog rather than being forced to attend to the person at the door. When the dog is more advanced, you can also incorporate penalties. If he gets it right, he is rewarded as usual. If he barks, he goes into the penalty box – a back room or crate that is far from the action.

Another technique – high effort but great result – is to teach the dog the meaning of the words “bark” and “quiet” (or any word you want to use as an “off” switch). First, you have to teach the dog to bark and quiet on command as a trick. To elicit the barking so that you can practice, you must use something you know makes the dog bark, like the doorbell or a weird noise outside (you may need a helper). Arrange the following sequence:

1) your command “bark!”

2) the doorbell or other prom

3) barking from the dog

4) praise from you: “good bark!”

5) your command “quiet”

6) showing him the treat

7) his (eventual) distraction from barking by the treat

8) 3-5 seconds of quiet during which you praise “gooo-oood quiet”

9) giving him the treat after 3-5 seconds of perfect quiet

10) repeat, gradually lengthening the duration of the “quiet” up to a minute

Do it over and over until the dog knows the game. He knows the game when he barks on the command and doesn’t need the doorbell anymore, and he quiets on the first quiet command without having to be shown the treat (you still give him one from your pocket, you just don’t show it anymore). If ever he interrupts a quiet with even one bark, say “oh! too bad” and start counting the quiet time from the beginning again. Barking during the quiet time will cost him his treat.

You must be able to yo-yo the dog back and forth reliably between bark and quiet before you try out your “quiet” command in real situations. The most common mistake is trying to use the quiet command before it’s well-enough conditioned in training sessions. Think of quiet on command as a muscle you’re making stronger.

When you can turn barking on and off anytime, anyplace as a trick, you may now start commanding quiet after a few barks when your dog barks on his own in real-life situations. The first few times the dog will respond poorly to the command. Don’t give up. Have really good treats handy. Go back to showing him the treat up front the first few times. Practice makes perfect.

If your dog “goes off” for the smallest sounds and changes in the environment, it would help the cause to get him better habituated. Take him out more, invite people and dogs over to socialize, expose him to a wider range of sights and sounds.

Tick Removal for your Pets

Removing ticks from your pets.

Ewe, it is flea and tick season!  Need help on removing those pesky ticks your dog and cat pick up from outside?  Check out ASPCA’s article:

So, you’ve found a tick on your pet—how do you deal with it? While it’s important to get these little suckers off quickly, ASPCA veterinarians advise that you stay calm and don’t rush it. Moving too fast when removing a tick could potentially create more problems, both for your pet and for you.

While the following instructions employ tweezers, be aware that there are some very good products on the market designed specifically for safe tick removal. If you live in a tick-heavy area or are taking your pets to a place where they are likely to get ticks, it’s a good idea to buy one of these tools and have it on hand. They generally work better than tweezers at getting out the whole tick, and are relatively inexpensive.

Step-by-Step Tick Removal Instructions

Step 1—Prepare its Final Resting Place – Throwing a tick in the trash or flushing it down the toilet will not kill it, and it’s actually best to hold on to it for awhile for veterinary testing in case your pet falls ill from the bite. Be ready with somewhere to put the tick after you’ve removed it—the best option is a screw-top jar containing some rubbing alcohol.

Step 2—Don’t Bare-Hand It – Put on latex or rubber gloves so you’ll never have direct contact with the tick or your pet’s bite area. Ticks can carry infective agents that may enter your bloodstream through breaks in your skin or through mucous membranes (if you touch your eyes, nostrils or mouth).

Step 3—Grab a Partner – You don’t want your pet squirming away before you’re finished, so if possible, have a helper on hand to distract, soothe or hold her still.

Step 4—The Removal – Treat the bite area with rubbing alcohol and, using a pair of tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the animal’s skin as possible. Pull straight upwards with steady, even pressure. Place the tick in your jar.

• Do not twist or jerk the tick! This may leave the mouth-parts embedded in your pet, or cause the tick to regurgitate infective fluids.
• Do not squeeze or crush the body of the tick, because its fluids (saliva and gut contents) may contain infective organisms.

Step 5—All that Remains – Sometimes, in spite of doing everything right, a tick’s mouth-parts will get left behind in your pet’s skin. If the area doesn’t appear red or inflamed, the best thing to do is to disinfect it and not to try to take the mouth-parts out. A warm compress to the area might help the body expel them, but do not go at it with tweezers.

Step 6—Clean Up – Thoroughly disinfect the bite site and wash your hands with soap and water (even though you were wearing gloves). Sterilize your tweezers with alcohol or by carefully running them over a flame.

Step 7—Keep Watch – Over the next few weeks, closely monitor the bite area for any signs of localized infection. If the area is already red and inflamed, or becomes so later, please bring your pet—and your jarred tick—to your veterinarian for evaluation.

From: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/pet-care-tips/how-to-remove-a-tick-from-your-pet.aspx

Clear the Air Testimonials

Nothing is stronger than a positive testimonial about a business’s product.

We thought we’d compile a bunch of our testimonials so you can see the various odors Clear the Air will successfully eliminate!

Testimonial on Cat Urine Odor:

The product is amazing. I have tried so many other products and companies. I recently spent over $300 for someone to clean the carpets and use a secret “proprietary” formula that didn’t work. We have five cats, and if one is sick or has an accident, the others will quickly follow suit. Right now, with the product working on a couple of areas, there is no odor in the house. That is just amazing.

Thank you, Lynn

Testimonial on Doggie Odor in the basement:

No THANK YOU! This stuff is amazing! It saved me a bundle by not having to replace the basement carpet because of the strong “doggie” odor. Now it’s like there never was a dog in my new home. Thanks so much for making this available. I’ve already recmmended it to several friends.

DH

Testimonial on Dead Animal Odor:

We’ve spent the weekend trying to eliminate a “dead animal” smell from our upstairs bedroom in our three year old home (something got into the walls and died). My little doxie Milo alerted me to the problem and has been going crazy, sniffing and trying to show me that there is something in there.

We tried everything – vinegar, baking soda, ionizer, etc; nothing helped and the 90 plus degree heat today made it really awful! I was ready to call a disaster restoration service or critter control to address the odor.

In desperation, we searched the web and found Clear the Air information; we took your advice to go to Petco and make our own bags.  I made two bags from nylon hose and hung them around the closet and room. It’s only been a few hours and the difference is already unbelievable! Even Milo isn’t interested in sniffing it out anymore.  I anticipate that tomorrow will be even better.

What a great product – we will definitely use Clear the Air for  the garage, dog crate, etc. –hopefully we won’t run into any  more dead critters in our walls.

Sincerely, Lynne P. in Valencia, PA

Testimonial on Vacuum use:

LOVE your stuff! The pellets! A “bonus” is when you vaccuum them up, they stay in the vaccuum and I no longer smell the dog everytime I vaccuum! When dumping filter, I NEVER dump the pellets! Vacuuming is now not a “smelly” job. 🙂

Testimonial on Dead Rodent Odor:

I wanted to write to you to say how impressed I am with your products.

I had a terrible rodent infestation in an entire side of my house.  We had had a pest service come in to rid the house of pests, and I had also been mitigating all points of entry rodents were taking advantage of as they came out of the cold from the surrounding forest, and build nests for the winter.  I discovered the location of the nest by the odor of what smelled like old garbage coming from my 4 year old son’s bedroom wall and also an overpowering smell of urine coming from the basement play room directly underneath his room. After identifying the location of the smell, I completed demolition on a 20 foot by 15 foot area of the exterior wall of my house.  As I had suspected, there was significant rodent damage.

The condition of the wall was horrific: the insulation was all eaten away, and there were enormous rodent nests.  The worst part was there was so much feces and urine that combined with the contents of the nest, insects and bio-matter from decayed rodents, it had all permeated the sheathing, sheetrock, studs, joists, and concrete foundation from the second floor all the way to the sill plate and foundation.

After clearing out all the debris, and pounds of rodent feces and desiccated remains in the basement ceiling,  I spent an entire week, after removing all the exterior sheathing of the effected wall, and leaving the wall exposed to the outside drying out the studs, and cleaning it with industrial grade, scented disinfectant.  After replacing the sheathing that was rotting from the urine, and treating everything I could, multiple times, with disinfectant, I discovered that after sealing it all up I still had a phantom smell of the nest and urine.  It wasn’t as bad, but it was obviously the same smell, especially when there was an increase in humidity and the house was closed up, especially my son’s room.

Out of desperation I began searching the Internet for answers.  I came across Earth Care products when I typed in “how to get rid of dead rodent stink”, and was encouraged when I saw that your products were non-toxic, especially having three kids all 5 and under.

I bought three bags and placed them in the large basement room where the urine smell was the most overwhelming.  In just one day the smell had decreased by at least half.  The second day the small was almost impossible to discern.  By the third day there was no trace. It was incredible!  What was so amazing was that they didn’t need to come in contact with the effected area, just be near it.  That was key, since I had already sealed it up.

This product is amazing.  Despite having done my best to improve the air quality of my home, apart from burning the house down and starting over, I have a significant peace of mind knowing my children are not breathing that wretched air from a rodent’s nest. I am ordering more bags for the rest of the house.  Thank you, is all I can say.  I would be delighted to provide a testimony for the efficacy of your product.  I am a grateful and passionate client!

Jason

Saving On Pet Expenses

Great article we came across from ABC News about saving money on pet related expenses.  Check it out:

Caring for a pet can be a big expense, with owners spending between $600 and $3,000 a year depending on the breed and budget.

Josh Elledge from the Savings Angel.com has some advice to help save on pet-related expenses.

VETERINARY CARE/MEDICATIONS:

Veterinary care can be one of the largest expenses with medications for everything from fleas to heartworm to more specific medications for your pet’s ailments. It is possible to purchase medications through online pharmacies and save yourself a good deal of money. While critics may warn about the dangers of buying medications online, this is a particularly important option for families who might not otherwise be able to afford the medications their pet needs.

There are only 16 online pharmacies that are registered with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. This association reviews the pharmacy’s practices to ensure they are compliant with all proper requirements.

While not completely fail-safe, experts I’ve listened to urge owners who wish to buy medications online to make sure they are doing business only with these sites. You can find the list atnabp.net

One option that might be a possibility is to ask your vet if she or he will match the pricing of an Internet retailer. Our vet has given us a nominal discount or recommended a rebate that was otherwise unknown when we’ve asked.

FOOD:

The second area that you can possibly save yourself a good deal of money is pet food. There are many options available for feeding your pet. Some owners opt for economy varieties. Economy varieties include Alpo, Beneful, Hill’s Science Diet, Kibbles ‘n Bits, and Purina. There are manufacturer coupons aplenty, which can add to the savings. In our database at SavingsAngel.com, we regularly see these brands for 50-70% off retail prices. Getting deals like this involve timing your purchase and applying a high-value coupon at the same time.

Obviously, these brands are inexpensive by comparison, but can contain a large amount of filler like wheat, corn and soy. It’s important that you review the labels and talk to your vet to discuss your pet’s needs. You can also choose premium brands like Iams, Eukanuba, and some varieties of Hill’s Science Diet. Large corporations own all these brands now (Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive). This is helpful from the standpoint in that coupons are available for budget-minded shoppers. Iams and Hill’s, for example, recently published a $3 coupon that can make for some very good savings. Hill’s is also offering a $12.99 rebate on selected varieties.

When purchasing, make sure to read the label. There are four things you want to look for:

1. The guaranteed analysis. (How much fat & protein in the food.

2. The nutritional adequacy statement

3. The ingredients (avoid foods with too much filler.)

4. The feeding guidelines

One website that you might find very useful in choosing a pet food dogfoodadvisor.com. This website is also very helpful in tracking pet food recalls. Sadly, recalls of pet food are fairly common.

If you own a larger breed dog, you may find that more expensive varieties are outside your budget (unless you are using your coupons!) This makes it very important to talk to your vet to talk about what ingredients to look for. Your vet may also be able to give you some ideas regarding supplementing your dog’s nutrition.

BOARDING:

The price of boarding can vary wildly depending on the quality of the care. If you want to get a great deal on boarding, the best deals on good boarding facilities will be found on the daily deal sites (Groupon, etc…). With some careful watching, you’re bound to find a deal eventually – though the deals tend to be geared more for short term stays.

Don’t be afraid to competitively shop the pet resorts – and ask if one location will match or beat the price of another – particularly if you are boarding for a longer period of time. Vacancy means lost revenue and pet boarding facilities are a business like any other who desire to stay busy. The best deals of all on pet care are going to come from exchanging pet sitting – or hiring a pet-loving tween. You can also ask for recommendations for reliable pet sitters at your local animal shelter or pet store. Pet sitters can charge a fraction of a pricey pet resort.

TRAINING:

Forget hiring the dog whisperer unless you have special needs. The Internet is FILLED with step by step instructions and video examples of how to train your pooch to do all the tricks you like – or overcome any naughty puppy behavior. A training class is helpful for socialization – but after your puppy is old enough, make sure the dog park and walks in dog occupied areas are part of your regular routine.

PET INSURANCE:

Pet insurance is usually not a good investment. “It’s common to pay $300 a year or more for pet insurance. Over the life of a dog or cat that might be $5,000 or more. Most people are not going to spend that kind of money on covered pet health care.

For its August 2011 issue, Consumer Reports compared of nine pet policies for Roxy, a healthy 10-year-old beagle who lives near the magazine’s office in Yonkers, N.Y. Roxy’s lifetime vet bills have totaled $7,026 (in current dollars). In every case, the total premiums that would have been paid to those insurance companies were higher than Roxy’s medical bills. It makes more sense to put a couple of hundred dollars into a household emergency fund each year for serious pet health issues.

From: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=resources&id=8713519

What To Feed Older Dogs

Clear the Air suggests anyone with a senior dog check out these tips from the ASPCA on feeding dogs older in age.

Dogs begin to show visible age-related changes at about seven to twelve years of age. There are metabolic, immunologic and body composition changes, too. Some of these are unavoidable. Others can be managed with diet.

1. Since smaller dogs live longer and don’t experience age-related changes as early as bigger dogs, size is used to determine when it’s time to feed your canine a senior diet:Small breeds/dogs weighing less than 20 pounds—7 years of age
   Medium breeds/dogs weighing 21 to 50 pounds—7 years of age
   Large breeds/dogs weighing 51 to 90 pounds—6 years of age
   Giant breeds/dogs weighing 91 pounds or more—5 years of age
2. The main objectives in the feeding an older dog should be to maintain health and optimum body weight, slow or prevent the development of chronic disease, and minimize or improve clinical signs of diseases that may already be present.
3. As a dog ages, health issues may arise, including:
   – deterioration of skin and coat
   – loss of muscle mass
   – more frequent intestinal problems
   – arthritis
   – obesity
   – dental problems
   – decreased ability to fight off infection
4. Older dogs have been shown to progressively put on body fat in spite of consuming fewer calories. This change in body composition is inevitable and may be aggravated by either reduced energy expenditure or a change in metabolic rate. Either way, it is important to feed a diet with a lower caloric density to avoid weight gain, but with a normal protein level to help maintain muscle mass.
5. Avoid “senior” diets that have reduced levels of protein. Studies have shown that the protein requirement for older dogs does not decrease with age, and that protein levels do not contribute to the development or progression of renal failure. It is important to feed older dogs diets that contain optimum levels of highly digestible protein to help maintain good muscle mass.
6. Talk to your veterinarian about increasing your senior dogs GLA intake. Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) is an omega-6 fatty acid that plays a role in the maintenance of healthy skin and coat. Although it is normally produced in a dog’s liver, GLA levels may be diminished in older dogs. Does your older dog’s diet contain GLA?
7. Aging can affect a dog’s intestinal bacteria, which can result in symptoms of gastrointestinal disease. Senior diets for dogs should contain FOS (fructooligosaccharides) to promote the growth of beneficial bacteria.
8. Antioxidants such as vitamin E and beta-carotene help eliminate free radical particles that can damage body tissues and cause signs of aging. Senior diets for dogs should contain higher levels of these antioxidant compounds. Antioxidants can also increase the effectiveness of the immune system in senior dogs.
9. Routine care for geriatric pets should involve a consistent daily routine and periodic veterinary examinations to assess the presence or progress of chronic disease. Stressful situations and abrupt changes in daily routines should be avoided. If a drastic change must be made to an older pet’s routine, try  to minimize stress and to realize the change in a gradual manner.

From: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/feeding-older-dogs.aspx