Walk Fido

Fido Food: Make it from Scratch or Kibble It Up?

We have been struggling to find the right dog food for our own dogs and client dogs for years.  Just when we've found the perfect food (dogs have firm poops and don't vomit immediately after eating), something goes awry and we have to start all over again.  Our English bulldog Oscar is allergic to chicken (as are many bully breeds) and Stella is the queen of diahrrea.  We know - it's awful but it's true. Some dogs need to stay away from lamb while others thrive on it. Some of the top tier foods are so packed with veggies our dogs would never get in the wild that they have constant diahrrea. We're not the only ones - our clients have trouble too.

We have tracked ingredients in nearly every brand of dog food, we've experimented with homemade soups for Great Danes and special rice and cottage cheese for those who can't handle much more. We've done fresh veggies and cooked meat, we've done frozen patties and kibble. We've done organic, holistic, vegan and not. We've done it all. Even if a program works for a few weeks or, if we're lucky, a few months, something invariably goes wrong. The food is recalled, one of our dogs starts getting sick, someone begins getting weird bumps, and we're back to square one.

So Marion Nestle's latest article in The Bark  - The Future of Pet Food - was of great interest to us. While attending the Global Pet Expo in San Diego, Neslte noticed some interesting things about how pet food products are evolving (or not):

The Good

• Kiss the Melamine Mess Goodbye - More and more dog food companies are quick to point out that for them, all products from China are a no-no. Many are still doing it and are backing up their decisions by adding in more safety checks.  We say: do your research and buy local if you can.

The Bad

• Buzzword Bingo is Alive and Well & Misleading - Weight loss, joint health, heart health, anti-this and anti-that words and phrases are all over packaging for treats, kibble, patties, supplements, you name it. The problem is that many nutritional claims are either unfounded, unproven, erroneous or downright false.
• Treats Are on the Rise - We're an anti-treat household for the most part, preferring to have dogs resopnd correctly to requests because they want to behave, not because they want a treat.  One of the saddest things to see are overweight dogs that have hip and joint problems when they can get to a healthy weight just by cutting out treats and increasing exercise.  Instead, many owners place their dogs on diet foods and continue giving treats throughout the day.
• Greenwashing Gets Goofy - Large, commercial pet food companies are seeing the increasing interest in green, natural products that are good for Fido and good for the environment.  Why is this in the "bad" section then?  Because instead of actually bettering their products or reducing their effect on our planet, they're simply marketing the same old commercial products as green.  Bad. Very bad.

The Odd

• Doggie Bottled Water is The Next Big Thing - "For whom?", we'd ask, as we cannot imagine anyone - with all the research about the impact plastic bottles have on the earth as well as the harm that water in plastics over a period of time can do - buying cases of bottled water for their dogs. These doggie bottles of water contain herbs, vitamins, minerals and supplements. Think Smart Water for Fido.  Would you buy them? Sounds like a stretch to us...

...but of course, we're still trying everything we can to get into a "solid" routine! So while none of this solves our immediate food crisis (Oscar is now on kibble and beef raw patties, Stella is on kibble with lamb raw medallions and fresh broccoli and carrots), it does remind us why we fret over dog food as much as we do. There's big money in it for the manufacturers and it's up to every owner to closely examine what they're feeding Fido. 

Football Season & Fido

Football season is here and that means new gear - for the players, the fantasy football players, dog owners and of course, the dogs themselves. While we've not seen too many tricked-out doggie clients or decked out darlings downtown, we have certainly seen a sharp increase in doggie merch that is all about your team - pro football or college, there are plenty of shops that cater to outfitting your dog with your teams logos in just about every conceivable way.

As Angelenos without a football team (le sigh) to call our own (again), we prefer this more generic nod to the season...available at Muttropolis for $19.00   

Reason #1158 to Love English Bulldogs

It's not as if we have to seek out reasons to fall in love - daily - with our English Bulldog Oscar. Yet news that a bulldog saved a sack of drowning kittens has us smitten all over again.  We work with many types of dogs and each of them has a trait that is so uniquely their own and so charming. With English Bulldogs, we have seen time and again that they are stalwart and loyal and very aware of both human and animal suffering around them. Their capacity to sense and respond to needs is remarkable, especially since the other part of their lives are spent lounging about and sleeping. Bravo to Napolean for running across a street, jumping into the water, and swimming (swimming!) to save the kittens.

To get your daily English Bulldog fix, visit Bulldog Abbie and fall in love. Again and again and again.

Fido Findings

News from the dogosphere:

• It is now illegal to walk dogs in public in Riyadh.
• Verizon Wireless finally yanked those horrible pit bull ads.  Too bad so much damage is already done.
• The very good folks at Bad Rap revisit the Tusla puppy incident and find it surprising that so many people would never expect a lab to bite. Theyve provided a short list of "old and not-so-old headlines" to remind us that "dogs are still animals, even when they can fit into a fancy leather shoulder bag."
• Nathan Winograd, author of Redemption, is furious about the effectiveness of L.A.'s recent mandatory dog licensing laws and he hopes a similar proposition for mandatory cat licensing gets buried before it gets traction.
• Dogster shines a light on some of the more horrifying things that can happen when you take Fido to get groomed.
• In lighter news: Dogster is running a series of photo contests and we are pleased as punch that an English bulldog won the most recent go-round for a crazy drool-covered picture.

Animal Ownership - Where Do You Fit In?

David's latest contribution to Oh Audrey is up and it focuses on a few different ways you can neglect your dogs even if you are giving them constant care. Here's a sneak peek:

"In our busy lives, we need to remind ourselves that if we truly care for our animals, then we must be willing to learn about and address their needs from their perspective whenever possible. Taking the time to educate ourselves about our animals is part of the fun of spending our days with these creatures."

And one more for good measure:

"Dogs do not need yards to be happy. Dogs need walks, exercise and socialization with other dogs and people every day to be happy. Dogs need rules and leadership just like they would have from each other if we were not here with them. The wild is not an easy, always safe place to survive. The rules of nature are serious and those who don't work hard lose out. Most owners forget this and let their animals determine every aspect of their relationship."

Read the whole article on the ever-fabulous Oh Audrey site now.

Poop Bags So Cool, You Won't Want to Use 'Em

We're big fans of Mutt Mitts at Walk Fido. So much so that we buy them in bulk and help to have Mutt Mitt stations installed downtown to ensure that all dog owners have every opportunity to pick up after their dogs with biodegradable poop bags.  Mutt Mitts aren't highly fancy, but they are highly functional and get the job done.  We especially like the turn it inside out way they work and their black interior. A very tidy way to clean up!

But if we were ever to fall for another poop bag option...we'd have to say we're smitten with the high design of dog poo bags by Junges Schachtel.  They're very cool and terribly irreverent...perfect for downtown dogs and their owners!  We never thought picking up poop could be funny, but these bags would make that possible. We're not crazy about the clear bag design - great without poop in it, very unsavory once filled - or the weird flaps, but we love that good design is making its way to all dog accoutrements, not just beds and clothing.

Walk Fido Does A Dog Day Afternoon

Last night from 6pm - 9pm, we attended A Dog Day afternoon, an event held in the beautiful outdoor courtyard at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. It was an excellent event and it was wonderful to see so many Walk Fido clients out socializing with their pups.

Bark Avenue stole the show with their many rescue dogs that wore bright orange "adopt me" safety vests.  They were led through the crowd of 500+ attendees and were so lovely we wanted to adopt a few on the spot!  If you don't yet have a dog but are considering becoming a fido owner soon, please visit Bark Avenue and spend some time with their delicious dogs. They need good homes just like yours! If you're not ready to be a doggie parent, you can always donate your time or money to help find homes for these guys!

It was a lovely night and we enjoyed spending time with several downtown dog companies and many downtown residents. We look forward to seeing you out on the walk!

The Bat's in Trouble with PETA

We, like many Angelenos, movie-goers, and Batman fans, saw The Dark Knight last week when it opened. We loved it.

And, we'll admit, we were quite pleasantly surprised to see that the Joker's aggressive dogs weren't pit bulls. Hollywood has a terrible reputation for playing up the aggressive pit bull stereotype, so we were relieved to see that specific choice wasn't made in this film. 

Yet in side-stepping the pit bull stereotype, the film played into another: aggressive Rottweilers.  We've covered the breed here before and hate to see them portrayed in this way.  Did we expect the Joker to run around Gotham with aggressive Miniature Poodles? No - but it is hard to overlook this equally unfair choice of breed in a film that millions will see.

For all these choices made and not made, however, we aren't as upset as PETA.  They have come out against the film and against Batman for fighting off the ferocious dogs instead of using a cool techno-gadget to humanely defend himself.  The comments on their Batman post are spirited and offer a range of opinions and arguments both for and against the depiction of dogs in the film. Since the dogs were treated humanely on set and no harm came to them, we don't entirely agree with PETA's assessment.  Do you?

It's Hot Out There!

With the weather getting hotter by the second, dogs are having a tough time keeping cool. Downtown's sidewalks and streets can be hot on paws and can radiate heat up to their dog bellies and faces.

Because we want all the doggies to stay hydrated, we're always on the look-out for ways to keep Fido cool while out on a walk, or hike or all day trip.

We've gathered up a few of our favorites here - from a vest you can dunk in water and the best on the go water bottle, to the ultimate in dog gear: their very own Camelbak lookalike!

Adventure Dog Bowl $12.00 at REI
Gulpy Water Dispenser, $7.00 at REI
Swamp Cooler Vest, $50.00 at REI
Doggie Camelbak, $26.00 at Things4YourDog

Tough Toys for Tough Teeth

We meet many dogs who like to chew and who have tough teeth. All good things - teaching your dog chewing (on the right thing!) from an early age is a wonderful way to keep other behaviors in check. Anytime they're doing something you don't like, you can always redirect their behavior to a chew toy, which is an acceptable way to get out their energy.

The trick for tougher teeth and heavy chewers is that some bones are way too soft and disintegrate into pieces in a matter of minutes. Other bones are too hard and can break teeth (this happened recently to our bulldog). Finding tough toys that fall somewhere in the middle and that will actually stay in one piece for a few months after many long chew sessions has been a challenge.

So we are loving these new firehose squeaks. They come in durable nylon, they are seamed with even tougher fabric and they are...kind of cute to boot.