Summer & Hot Weather * To shave or not to shave, that is the question *

Hot weather and long haired pets.
Dogs don't use sweat to cool themselves the way we do, their sweat glands exist on their muzzle (nose) and the pads of their feet. Panting and drinking water helps cool them, but if they only have hot, overheated air to breathe, dogs can undergo organ and brain damage after just 10 minutes. Short-nosed dogs, like Pugs and shih-tzu‘s, puppies, elderly or pets with health problems such as weight, respiratory, cardiovascular are especially susceptible to heat-related stress. They don't need to have exposed skin in order to stay cool. Too much hair can stop being beneficial in hot weather and start retaining too much heat especally if the coats are matted or dirty. Clipping down the coat close to the skin is fine just as long as you protect the skin from sunburn.
Todays pets live in houses along side their human owners and adjust well to both air conditioning and fans. So go ahead, try a summer hair cut your pet will look cool and feel very cool.

Matted Dog / Shaved Dog

I just have to share this tragic story with you. Dogs that are not groomed by either owners or professional groomers WILL get matted. It's a shame that animals are neglected to the point that drastic measures need to be taken.

Case in point: This little dog, we will call him Mr. Miserable, was so matted that there was no way to brush out his hair and do it humanly. The only thing I could do was to shave it off and hear me when I say "I was not easy". I think sometimes people assume sense it's going to be shaved it just comes off. No! It is hard and very dangerous. Think about the skin, it was smothered by nasty, smelly, matted fur. The skin needs to be able to breath so to speak. The oils (Sebum) need to be released to lubricate, and protect the hair shaft resulting in a healthy, shiny coat, without it, skin and hair become unmanageable.

The pictures you see are disturbing, but it is a reality for some dogs.

Here is Mr. Miserable in such bad shape that I needed to shave ALL his hair off. This was very hard and dangerous to do.

As you can see, the hair came off in a pelt.

His poor little belly was very red from urine soaked hair.

This picture is of his tail. It pealed off in one big piece.

Here he is so happy to be free of all that nasty, smelly hair. Let us now call him Mr. Delighted and that he was.

Flint River Ranch DryWater Dog Food

Flint River Ranch DryWater Dog Food
Why is DryWater so Healthy & Superior?

REAL CHICKEN, NO by-products or parts of the chicken that our precious pets should ever eat.

All-Natural Ingredients: Vegetables, Rice and Grains, Healing Herbs, Flax, etc.

Vitamins & Chelated Minerals "Live" enzymes (Probiotics) Recommended by Veterinarians Approved by Nutritionists

Lower Cost Per Feeding

Instant Fresh and Warm Meals

No Wasted Food No Smelly Cans

Healthy Benefits No Chemical Preservatives Highest Quality Ingredients Canned Food is 75-82% water. With DryWater, you don't pay a high cost for plain water with no nutritional value!
A 14 oz can of dog food, made with 80% water, has only 20% solid food or 2.8 oz of food per can. DryWater has 48 oz of food. A one cup serving size of 3.2 oz is equal to 15 - 14 oz or 30 - 7 oz cans.

To Serve: Scoop the desired amount of DryWater food into your dog's bowl. Add enough hot water (bottled or tap) to just cover the food. Stir briefly to blend - allow 2 minutes to create a warm, light, and natural meaty gravy consistency. DryWater is a 100% complete and fully balanced meal. Serve as a single complete hot meal or combine and serve over Flint River Ranch Oven-baked dry Dog Food.

Healthy Pets Newletter

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Each issue contains: Helpful Pet Information, Interesting Stories and Nutritional Advice along with Insightful viewpoints from our Veterinarian Formulator Dr. Jane Bicks.
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It is a great away to learn about keeping your pet healthy. There is always something at I learn in each issue and now you can too.

West Highland Terrier

This is Jemma as a puppy. She is now an adult but I love this picture and wanted to share it with everyone.
The Westie, as some call them have a harsh, straight, short-haired double coat that is fairly easy to groom. They shed little to no hair so this breed is great for allergy prone owners .
Grooming: Start by brushing with a stiff bristle brush, followed by a grayhound comb. Daily brushing helps keep the coat clean and bathe once a month with a whitener shampoo. These dogs are groomed using one of two methods:
Clip or Strip
For the pet, clipping is what most owners prefer, it does tend to make the coat softer but it is more convenient, easier to do and takes less time. Stripping is always done on show dogs because it makes the coat harder and coarser.
The basic look for the pet Westie:
Trim the ears so that they come to a point. The tip is trimmed close to look smooth and velvety. Hair on the skull should be slightly shorter than the ears. The head is scissored round and is supposed to look like a chrysanthemum when viewed from the front.
Trim the hair tight around the foot. The tail is shaped to look like a carrot. The back is clipped short from the back of the neck to the tail. The sides are trimmed slightly leaving a shirt.

Using the Right Brush

Did you know that there are different brushes for different hair/coat types? Well there is and I am going to tell you. First, Why brush? Brushing the hair is just not for the beauty it, it also serves several other significant purposes; cleaning the hair shaft, massaging the skin and stimulating the release of a valuable oil called sebum. Sebum is released by the sebaceous gland at the base of the hair follicle. Brushing the coat cleans the hair shaft, follicle, and skin by removing trapped dead skin cells, dirt, and oils. Brushing also distributes the sebum, coating, lubricating, and protecting the hair shaft resulting in a healthy, shiny coat.
Pin brush: This style is especially effective on long and full coated breeds. The stainless-steel pins are durable and outlast the plastic type. Anti-static pin brush: perfect of dogs that have fine, flyway hair.
Slicker Brush: These brushes have a curved head and fairly stiff pins, they are ideal for dematting. Soft slickers have a curved back and softer pins, ideal for delicate coats.
All System brush: These are slicker brushes with long pins to safely remove the undercoat without damaging the top coat.
Rubber brush: Use during bathing to remove loose hair, massage skin. Ideal for short, medium and double-coated dogs and cats.
Boar Bristle brush: These help distribute skin's natural oils (Sebum) though the coat to enhance shine.

Trout & Sweet Potato Wafers from Flint River Ranch

Pippin and Bosco's favorite treat is by far the Flint River Ranch Trout & Sweet Potato Wafers. It is crunchy oven baked treat that is wheat and chicken free! So if your pet can not have wheat or poultry due to allergies this is the treat for them. They contain the same formula as the Fish & Chips Dog Formula, and is also enhanced with cranberries and blueberries, providing healthy antioxidants. The wafers are a nice size measuring 2 by 2inch squares. They also come nicely packaged in a resealable bag to maintain there freshness.