Whether you’re a new dog owner or a life-time dog lover, it can be hard to know if and when your dog’s in pain. It would be easy if they could just tell us, but what makes it even harder is that dogs rarely yelp out in pain. Most of the time they just seem a little “off” and have very subtle symptoms.

However if you don’t recognize when your dog’s in pain, they could end up suffering in pain for a long time and the problem causing the pain could even get worse.

That’s why learning how to recognize pain in your dog is so important to helping them live a happy and healthy life! So if your pet isn’t going to cry out every time they’re in pain, what are the things you need to look for? 

The Three Main Clues to Recognize Pain

1. Changes in personality

A few months ago when I got home from work, my dog Zeke didn’t greet me at the door with a toy in his mouth like he usually does, and I knew something wasn’t right. He...

Is this a normal age-related change? Should I be worried? Find out the most common medical conditions in senior dogs so you know what to look for!

As our dogs get older, they do change. And sometimes it can be difficult to know what you should and shouldn’t worry about… what’s normal and what’s not.

And there are some ailments that are really common in our senior dogs. The problem is that many of them are frequently overlooked as just “normal age-related change.”

So while these are all common conditions, NONE of them are “normal.” And when these changes or ailments go without being addressed, the quality of life for our dogs can suffer. 

But with these top 5 medical conditions in senior dogs, you’ll be prepared to recognize these abnormal changes with your dog, early. And the sooner you do, the sooner you can get your dog help so they can continue to live a healthy and comfortable life!

Top 5 Medical Conditions in...

As we near the end of the summer, you might be thinking about a last minute trip before the hustle and bustle of fall arrives. Kudos to you!

And if you’re anything like me, you want to take your dog along, but you’re worried about traveling with them as they get older.

Are they healthy enough to travel? How do I keep them safe in the car? What if they get sick while we’re away? Do I need to bring anything special with me?

These are just some of the thoughts that might float around in your mind. And it might make the thought of traveling much more stressful.

But vacation is supposed to be fun! So let’s go over some “must-dos” and considerations to put your mind at ease so you can enjoy some quality time and relax with your furry best friend!

Medical and Safety Considerations:

1. Medical Records

Make sure to bring copies of your dog’s important medical records. This might include vaccine history, Rabies certificate, recent bloodwork,...

We almost lost our sweet girl years ago. And then multiple times since. Yes, food has the power to transform lives. And I’ve seen it happen over and over again. But sometimes the right food can actually save lives too. 

You’ve probably heard me talk about my senior dog Kacee, but I haven’t shared her entire amazing journey, the multiple sudden life-threatening diseases she developed, and how the right foods saved her life again and again. 

But she inspires me every single day and I want to share that inspiration with you too.

It Started With Many Sleepless Nights

When we adopted Kacee (she was 10 years old) and I fed her what I thought was a good healthy food- a senior formula dry kibble diet. But a year later, she suddenly seemed to go crazy one night. She couldn’t sleep and she was restless, panting, and pacing… all night long! All the tests came back normal and we couldn’t figure out why. For 2 weeks this went on.

It was assumed to...

I don’t know about you, but as my dogs get older, more and more issues seem to pop up. Now most of them aren’t big issues but I notice more and more small changes in their health. Zeke’s fur is drier than usual. Kacee is sleeping more. Zeke trips on the stairs every once in a while. Kacee isn’t eating quite as voraciously as she used to.

I bet you’ve probably noticed changes with your dog too- whether it be that they don’t want to play as much, or their pickiness with their food, or maybe they even have arthritis.

And as you’re noticing these changes, you might be wondering what, if anything, you can do to help. 

Well, the good news is that food is very powerful and it can play a HUGE role in helping your dog with these health changes! What’s even better is that there are foods out there that can help with practically every health condition, whether big or small.

How Food Can Help:

There are specific foods that have special...

USE THESE 2 RULES INSTEAD FOR PICKING YOUR DOG’S DIET

I’ve been getting asked this question a lot: “Is this a good brand of dog food?” But here’s the thing: the brand of food is NOT what makes a food good for your dog. Sure, you want to feed a reputable brand that you can trust, but feeding the best food comes down to so much more than that.

I didn’t used to know that either though. When I adopted my dog Zeke 10 years ago, I was determined to feed him the very best. I had recently lost my previous dog baby Reese to cancer at a very young age and I wanted to make sure I did everything to protect Zeke from that terrible disease. I wanted to feed Zeke a food that was more natural because I worried that maybe Reese’s food had played a role in his getting cancer. So I did a lot of research online and looked at what was going into each food. And finally I found a food that fit what I was looking for. And every month, I would shell out money for...

We all know that dogs change as they get older. You’ve probably seen it with your own dog. Their body changes, their energy requirements change, and their health changes. And that means the their nutritional needs change too.

I learned this the hard way with my dog Kacee. About 3 years ago, she suddenly got weak in her back legs and she had a hard time going on walks. She lost a lot of muscle in her legs and I noticed that her coat was dry and wiry. She just wasn’t “healthy.”

Now at this point, I was feeding her what I thought was high quality food- an expensive brand of nutritionally balanced dry kibble food made for senior dogs. I thought it would give her everything she needed as she got older.

But what I realized is that I wasn’t nourishing her body the way I should have been. While she was getting a food specific for senior dogs, it wasn’t providing her body the support she needed as she aged.

But with some simple changes to her daily diet,...

Have you ever made a mistake with your dog’s food? Maybe with what you fed or how you fed it? Well I have. Loads of times. In fact, I’ve been making mistakes for YEARS. But I didn’t know that until recently.

There were things I thought were important when it came to picking their food, but I was wrong about them. The type of food I fed was wrong. The way I actually fed them the food was wrong. And I was wrong to think I could just feed any flavor of food made by a particular brand.

I was mistaken about a lot of things. But I just didn’t know it. That is, until my dogs got sick or had health issues because of it.

And it’s possible that you might be making these mistakes too. Because believe it or not, they’re really common.

So I want to put it all out there so you can learn from my mistakes. So that your dog doesn’t have to get sick before you realize you’re making a mistake. So that you can make changes to help your dog right now.

...

AND HOW IT MIGHT BE HARMING YOUR DOG

Let me ask you a question: How healthy would you be if all you ate was highly processed food, every single meal, of every single day?

Not so healthy I imagine. You wouldn’t have much energy because your body wasn’t being nourished. Your immune system would be weak, and you’d be more prone to getting sick. Sure, you could survive, but you definitely wouldn’t be healthy.

And it’s the same for our dogs.

For years, I only fed dry kibble to my dogs. I thought it was healthy and the best thing for them. That is, until my dog Kacee got sick. And I learned that the dry kibble I was feeding her, was actually contributing to her issues.

So you might be wondering why dry kibble isn’t the healthiest option for your dog. Sure, it’s convenient and easy to feed, but the benefits of dry kibble stop there. And not only is it NOT the healthiest option for your dog, it can also be harmful to their health.

But why? Well,...

SAY GOODBYE TO WONDERING ONCE AND FOR ALL

Do you remember the last time you stood at the pet store among the aisles upon aisles of dog food, trying to decide which food to buy. There were just so many choices that it eventually got overwhelming. Or maybe you’ve spent hours searching online and reading every review about a particular dog food, only to find conflicting answers.

You worry about whether this food is healthy, or whether that one has quality ingredients. You hear all about these food recalls and you want to make sure the food you choose is safe and uncontaminated.

The problem is that not every dog food company is created equal. And many companies are VERY GOOD at misleading customers about just how SAFE and HEALTHY their food is. Pet food companies can spend millions of dollars in marketing to say that they have quality food, but unfortunately that doesn’t make it true. They often don’t have the science and integrity to back that up.

And when the food...