Summer!

Summer? Really? Wasn’t it just winter? With the dog days of Summer upon us so are fleas, ticks and mosquitos.  How can we protect our furry children without dumping a bunch of toxins into their bodies? Click here to read about it.

I recently stumbled upon The Long Living Pet project link and had the pleasure of speaking to Mr. Thomas Sandberg.  His passion for helping pets live longer was radiating through the phone all the way from Utah.  I learned that big dogs are living into their late teens/early 20’s and small dogs are living into their late 20’s early 30’s! That blew my mind.  Of course my question was “How can I achieve this with my dogs”? I walked away from the conversation with these 3 key points.

1. Exercise.
2. Feed a raw food diet.
3. Minimize the toxins that enter our pets bodies.

Obviously #1 is easy.  #2 can get tricky and expensive! Thankfully I found Jake and Blues Raw Dog Food click here to check it out (we also sell it here at the Ranch).  Jake and Blue’s is VERY affordable and it’s the perfectly balanced diet that our carnivores need.  #3 is a bit more difficult since we live in such a toxic world.  If you’re interested in learning more about keeping toxins away from our beloved pets email me!

Lastly, if you’re like me, escaping the Texas heat is a must!  If your plans don’t include Fido don’t forget to book his/her vacation asap! keep in mind that we fill up quickly during the summer months!

For Austin click book here

For the Woodlands click book here

Hope to see y’all soon!

Jessica

 

Water, Fish and Raw

While awake in the middle of the night with the baby I remembered that Austin water is filled with yucky stuff!! Fluoride and Chlorine to name just 2.  Both of these chemicals are terrible for us and for our pets.  I highly recommend filtering your water to remove these toxins for both you and your animals.  We are on a well out here at the ranch but we still filter our drinking water.  We use a Pro Pur water filter- you can find it here.

I also just read an article about the mercury content found in fish these days.  Keep this in mind when buying food and treats for your pup that are derived from fish.  You can read that article here.

Our first shipment of Primal Raw food is arriving tomorrow! We are so excited to start on this journey to healthier pets! Contact me here to get more info! You can also read a pretty neat article here about how and why Primal Raw food was created.

Have a healthy evening!

 

Clarification re my last post

A few clients have reached out to me regarding my last post.  I am very passionate about learning how to do things holistically with my pets.  Sometimes this may come across as judgmental.  I want everyone to know that I do not judge you in any way if you decide to go the western medicine route with your pets.  I started this blog because after losing Dakota my heart was torn in two.  I knew that there had to be something that caused my baby to get so sick- it just didn’t feel right to my core that he was only 8, got sick and died within 2 weeks.  Just after Dakota died a friend of mines dog (a 20 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback) came down with Lymphoma.  20 MONTHS OLD!! not cool.  He died in 4 months.  I don’t want ANYONE to ever go through what I or she went through.  So, I started researching the heck out of cancer.  Me being the free thinker that I am, I searched for books and articles from people that have actually lived through cancer with their dogs.  I looked to holistic veterinarians that have spent years and years researching.

The main question I had is why are so many dogs (not to mention people) getting cancer? What has changed? why is it SO BAD? In the 1990’s GMO’s were introduced into our world. Since then things have gone downhill.  Veterinarians are recommending vaccinations yearly when they don’t need it.  When we put toxins into our dogs bodies their immune system freaks out.  How can our dogs fight disease when their immune system is overloaded and strained?

I couldn’t sit back and keep quiet.  It was eating me up.  Every time I answered the Barking Springs phone and told my clients that I needed vaccination records, I felt like a hypocrite.  So I started thinking, what if I divided the kennel in 1/2? there will be people that will not like their vaccinated dogs being around unvaccinated dogs and visa versa.  I could make  play yards for the unvaccinated and play yards for the vaccinated.  Designate one building for one and one for the other.   Sounds complicated, I know- but I want people like me to have options.  There are a few kennels in the Untied States that are already doing this.  Dr Falconer of Vital Animal has many clients that have expressed how they are at a loss.  They need to board their dogs but they don’t want to vaccinate.  I don’t know what this will look like or when we’ll implement it.  I am doing more research on how to prevent disease naturally in our environment.

Crazy thing, the ONE time we had a canine cough outbreak in 6 years it was because a dog came to us to board, the day he arrived he got the Bordetella vaccination which in turn he came down with it and spread it to a lot of our clients- all of which were vaccinated for it.

One thing that boggles me- why is it that when a dog is sick, with cancer or whatever ailment they may have, they are NOT supposed to be vaccinated.  Makes you wonder doesn’t it?

Like I said, I don’t judge those that choose to vaccinate or use heartworm/flea preventative.  I’m here to share what I’ve learned and you can take it from there.  As far as the kennel situation goes, I’m still working on that and would appreciate any/all feedback.

Have a healthy day!

 

 

 

Fleas and Stuff

Finally getting a chance to sit down and write.  I’ve been so busy with the boys, BSDR and  a puppy! One thing that has kept me extra busy are the fleas this summer.  They are TERRIBLE! I’ve been bathing River and Aby once a week to help keep them at bay.  I’m using an all natural shampoo along with Lemongrass and Eucalyptus mixed into the shampoo.  After bathing them I put an all natural spray to help keep them away. It’s working but not as well as the frontline/comfortis/trifexus used to.  I can see why it’s so easy to just go back to the old ways especially now that I have 3 young boys and a very busy business.  BUT, I wont put those toxins in my new baby after what I’ve learned and seen what happened to my Dakota.

I’ve noticed a lot of interesting things since I’ve started this all natural route.  One main thing that is really sticking out to me is that dogs that eat kibble have terrible breath.  I’ve had the joy of caring for some puppies Rivers age recently and their breath is not so pleasant.  River’s doesnt have an odor- I’m guessing it’s because he’s eating raw? I plan to investigate further.  One other thing is, River developed a very large wart on his lip recently.  I was told it was the Pappaloma virus.  When I did some research I found that these warts can present themselves from vaccinations.  River had 2 shots when he was 5 weeks old, Dr. Falconer said this wart was his bodies way of expelling the toxin.  Very interesting.  Thankfully the wart has fallen off and now it looks as though it was never there thanks to his stron immune system!

We are in the process of trying to figure out how to have 50% of the kennel require vaccinations and 50% of it have no requirements (other than rabies since it’s the law).  This is a hard decision for me but it is really bothering me that vaccinating goes against everything I beleive in.  How can I not vaccinate my dog but require everyone else to do it?Austin is a very “free thinking” and healthy city – I can only imagine getting a great response from my clients.  I’m still in the process of researching how to do this.  Stay tuned!

Have a healthy day!

 

Daily and Monthly Toxins

We’ve covered toxicity in food and vaccines, now let’s talk about the preventative medicines we give our fur babies along with weed killer we apply to our yards and parks.

Fleas- we hate them.  Ticks are SO bad and Heart worms are just plain nasty (not to mention the treatment given if one were to come down with heart worms).  So, what do we do? We give our dogs a monthly pill or topical solution that will keep those critters away from our pups.  But what is actually in these medicines that kill the insects?

About 10 years ago I remember a friend of mine telling me a story about when she put frontline on her dog some flew off and landed on her wooden coffee table and ate a hole through it! I was SHOCKED! ever since she told me that story I never used frontline again.

The 2 main ingredients in Frontline are “Fipronil” and “Methoprene” you can read about Fipronil  click here and click here.  Fipronil is a carcinogen.  OHMYGOSH! Here is another article Are spot on flea killers safe?

Trifexis has 2 main ingredients as well spinosad + milbemycin oxime, both are pesticides and pesticides are toxic.

One big toxicity that we don’t think much about is weed killers.  The ingredient in weed killer is “Glyphosate” which is a known carcinogen.  Read an article here that Mike Adams “The Health Ranger” just put out today about Glyphosate.

I will not take my dogs to dog parks anymore for this very reason.  It’s just not worth it.  My recommendation would be to call the parks you frequent and find out their spraying schedule or take your pups to a natural greenbelt or somewhere you know they don’t spray.  Definitely do not spray anything in your yard where your dog spends most of his days.  There are so many natural ways to treat a yard full of weeds.

Tomorrow I’ll write about what essential oils you can use to keep those fleas/ticks and heart worms away as well as natural ways to treat your yard for fleas.

Have a healthy day!

 

Vaccines

BIG topic, right? At least when it comes to humans this is a subject people don’t like to talk about.  Kinda like religion and politics.

When one makes the decision to raise their animal holistically it includes the choice to not vaccinate.  After Dakota died I decided to do some research into the ingredients that are in canine vaccines.  It was not pretty.  Not a whole lot of organic stuff in there.  I have been doing research on vaccines for over 6 years, have read MANY books and talked to many people who I respect and trust.  Vaccines hurt the immune system.  They suppress it and weaken it which in turn allows disease to grow.  Dogs that are not healthy are not supposed to receive them because it’ll only make the dog more sick (it states this in the insert of the vaccine)  Doesn’t that raise a red flag? It sure made me start asking questions.

So what do you do if you don’t vaccinate? How do you keep your dog from getting sick? Well, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. William Falconer, DVM and his goal is to keep the animals immune system healthy and these diseases will not present themselves or if they do, the body will fight them off quickly.

Please check out Dr. Falconers website click here there is so much information on the subject.  We are blessed to have this Dr in Austin. click here for an article specific to vaccines.

Another great Holistic Vet to check out is Dr. Richard Pitcairn and his book.  Here are the links.  Dr. Pitcairn and his book Natural Health for Dogs and Cats

A lot of people are starting to realize that we don’t need to immunize every year.  Here are some articles supporting that.

still vaccinating your pet every year?

What every vet should know about vaccines

why vets are pushing back

vaccines may not be necessary

I know this is a lot of information but in order to make an informed decision we must educate ourselves.

As far as River and Aby go, I will not be vaccinating them except for the Rabies vaccination which is required by the State of Texas.  I will do everything in my power to aid in helping their immune system to stay strong naturally.  I have gotten rid of all toxins in my home, bedding, area rugs, toxic cleaning supplies and have started using nothing by essential oils for cleaning and preventative care.  I am also giving this to them in their food every day Transfer Factor to help boost their immune systems.

I’m sure this will raise a lot of questions for my clients moving forward at Barking Springs Dog Ranch.  We can discuss on an individual basis if you are interested.

Tomorrow I’ll be talking about pesticides used at dog parks to kill weeds and how they could directly affect your dog through his paws.

Have a healthy day!

 

 

 

Immune System

We all have cancer cells in our bodies- human and canine.  If you have a healthy immune system the body kills off these cancer cells so cancer can not grow and form tumors.  Let’s tackle my first question- What had I been feeding Dakota during his 8 years here on earth?

I bought Dakota as a puppy at 11 weeks old.  So full of life (and SO BIG!, 42 lbs at 11 weeks).  For all of you that knew Kota Bear you knew he LOVED to eat.  He didn’t care what it was, he would eat it.  I was 31 when Kota became my baby- my whole life ahead of me.  I was oblivious to the C word and quite frankly I thought it would never happen to “MY” dog.  I respected my veterinarian and his opinion on what to feed my dog and how to care for him.  I honestly cant remember what brand of dog food I was feeding him but I know it wasn’t the best.  I was single and living pay check to pay check so I fed him what I could afford to feed him.  Little did I know that the food I was feeding him was filled with CORN- which is GMO.  Not to mention the GMO, there were also pesticides and antibiotics in there too.

If you read the news that is not mainstream media than you know that pesticides cause cancer.  If our animals are ingesting these pesticides than their immune system is slowly being compromised.  This is strike one against our fur babies.

On December 13th, 2015 I healed my heart the best way I knew how.  I bought a puppy! He is another Rhodesian Ridgeback (lets face it, once you own a ridgeback you’ll never settle for anything less) River is his name.  He is quickly filling some big paws! He is 7 months old and already weighs 97 lbs!  I have decided to take a completely holistic approach with River.  Since I brought him home I’ve been feeding him Orijen Large breed puppy mixed with Primal Raw (Lamb).  I’m soon switching to 100% raw because I had Orijen tested in a lab and there were some small traces of antibiotics in it.  In our house we all eat organic, grass fed, grain free, cage free and non GMO so if he were to ever clean up after my messy boys I wouldn’t worry about the food he’s ingesting.

Tomorrow I’m going to tackle my 2nd question “What are in the vaccinations I had been giving to Dakota”?

Have a healthy day!!

Canine Cancer

7 Months ago we lost our beloved Dakota (an 8 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback) to Cancer. It was a complete shock. From the moment he started showing symptoms to the day we had to say goodbye was a short 2 weeks. On October 18th, 2015 our lives were forever changed. My quest to learn how this could have happened began. I am starting this blog to help educate others about what I have learned. My hope is that you will not have to go through the pain of losing your fur baby too early.

Cancer. The word we hope to never hear from our Veterinarian. Unfortunately in 2016 1 out of 2 pet owners will hear that word and experience it with their dog. Some forms of cancer are minor and can be treated but some are very aggressive and deadly. Dakota unfortunately came down with a very aggressive cancer called “histiocytic sarcoma”. It was a form of blood cancer that quickly killed him. I asked the vet what caused this and his answer was “bad luck”. In my gut I did not feel that it was just bad luck. So I started to do some research. What was in the food I was feeding him? What are in the vaccinations I had been giving him? What pesticides do they spray at the dog parks to kill weeds? What kind of poison is in Flea/Tick and Heart worm preventative? What does all of this do to our babies immune systems?

I will be diving into each of those questions in my posts to come.  In the mean time, wrap your head around the possibility of raising your fur baby all natural.  Ask yourself if you’re prepared to think outside of the box so we can try to avoid the C word!