The Central BarkerIt's a Dog's World!

April 7th to May 7th is National Pet Month.  We honor these dates to promote responsible pet ownership, make people aware of the benefits of having companion animals, increase awareness of proffesional services for pets, and recognize the contribution working companion animals bring to our society.

To celebrate we are accepting donations to help the homeless pets at the Seattle Animal Shelter while they wait for their new homes.  They are in need of…

Please bring all donations to Central Bark – 838 Poplar Place South.  We will be accepting items until May 7th.  Thank you!

Since the holiday season seems to be full of cooking, stuffing, and wrapping activities and leaves little attention for Fido, we figured why not continue mixing and stuffing and give Fido a little extra love (and something to do while you’re busy with family): stuff a Kong!  In case you haven’t already discovered these durable, fill-able, affordable, dishwasher safe and completely awesome little rubber toys, you can find them at just about any pet retailer and they come sized and shaped to match your mutt’s chewing needs.  Here are some holiday stuffing recipes that will keep Fluffy occupied for hours…

Turkey Dinner – for beginning to intermediate chewers

• 2 parts Fromm’s Grain-Free Beef Frittata Veg (dry)
• 1 part Nature’s Variety Homestyle turkey and duck stew (canned).
• 1-3 pieces of Fruitables pumpkin and cranberry treat.
• Mix the dry and canned dog food to form a tasty chunky paste.
• Place 1-3 pumpkin and cranberry dog treats at the bottom of the Kong. Fill the remainder of the Kong with the wet/dry dog food mash. Feed at room temperature or freeze for advanced chewers.

Aunt Jeannie’s Archaeology Kong – for advanced chewers

• LAYER ONE (deepest): roasted, unsalted cashews · freeze dried liver bits
• LAYER TWO: dog kibble, cookies or liver biscotti · Cheerios · sugar-free, salt-free peanut butter · dried banana chips, apples and apricots
• LAYER THREE: carrot sticks · turkey or leftover ravioli or tortellini
• LIGHT VERSION: substitute crumbled rice cakes for cashews, Caesar croutons for freeze-dried liver, fat free cream cheese for peanut butter

Mix and match or substitute!  Just remember to supervise your dog with new chew toys and feed multiple dogs separately to avoid conflicts due to Kong envy.

Happy Holidays!

Fall is here and that means back to school and back to icky nasty dark dreariness that makes getting out and walking the dog seem less than appealing (sometimes, even for Fido).  Do not fear!  We have some tried and true tips for wearing out the dog without ever leaving the comfort of your own home.

The key with tiring a dog out in the house is mental stimulation.  For those of you who have the dog equivalent of the energizer bunny (you know who you are and thank you very much for your business) regular exercise is still required, but rest assured that you can make a dent in those canine Olympians.

1)  Make your dog work for food.  Eating out of a stainless steel bowl is not only easy and fails to tap into those deep once-upon-a-time wolf genes, it is pretty boring for your dog.  Try stuffing treat dispensing toys with your dog’s dinner and hiding them around the house.  My favorites are classic Kong toys and the Everlasting Fun Ball made by Starmark.  They are tough, quiet on hardwood, and dishwasher safe.

2)  Train your dog.  You will find that brief 3-5 minute training sessions are surprisingly exhausting for most dogs as the brain burns the most calories when learning.  Plus, you will have a better behaved dog!

3)  Seek and DESTROY!  This is another game that burns calories while tapping into your dog’s inner wolf.  Step one: collect shreddable items, boxes, toilet paper and paper towel rolls, etc.  Step two: take a handful of kibble, treats, or a chew toy, and box it inside a box inside a box (think one of those Russian dolls).  Step three: give it to your dog and encourage them to destroy the box to get to the food.  For maximum effect, hide it and have Fido find it first.*

*For any exercise that provides an outlet for your dog’s “naughty” behaviors, it is best to use a cue to start the game (like “Find-it”) so that you control when the game starts, not your dog.

Let’s see you flash those pearly whites! 

(No, not you, your dog!) 

Did you know that dogs need dental care too?  Just like humans dogs need to have their teeth brushed and maintained.  Many things like gum disease and bad breath can be prevented with proper brushing.  Unfortunately, dental hygiene for dogs is sometimes overlooked. Many people seem to just expect dogs to have bad breath, and few people brush their dogs’ teeth frequently enough. Dental hygiene is just as important to your dog’s overall health as things like his diet, proper exercise and routine grooming.  Help keep your dog healthy – pay attention to those pearly whites!

Because we know dental health is important to a dogs overall well being we are offering Tooth Brush Tuesdays in the month of June. 

Schedule a grooming appointment on any Tuesday in June and receive a complimentary teeth brushing for your dog as part of their grooming spa treatment (along with written instructions on how to do it yourself and their own tooth brush).  Please call us at 206.325.3525 to schedule an appointment.

There has been a lot of talk recently about the raw diet. I personally used to feed it to my Lab, Indra, and she had a shiny coat, looked very healthy, and did nicely on it. Then I tried it with my Great Dane Truman, let’s just say, it did not agree with him, I won’t go into the gross details. So while at an event I spoke with a representative from Darwin’s Natural Pet and he offered to give Truman an opportunity to try it again, and I took him up on it despite the consequences.

The freezer box showed up with 20lbs of food and I was instructed to give Truman tripe to start out and adjust his body… I am not sure if you have ever smelled tripe, but it is the most unexplainable worst smell ever. The smell aside, Truman did not have any bad reactions. The tripe lasted a few days and then we began to start him on the meats. I had an assortment of duck, turkey, beef, buffalo, and chicken. Truman gobbled up the food immediately! My other dogs were very jealous. Truman had no stomach troubles and, as the owner of 2 dogs over 150lbs, one of the best benefits was that I picked up less poop. I am half embarrassed to say that, but it was a benefit! We encountered only one hiccup and that was when Tru began to lose a little weight, but I just upped the amount and he put the weight right back on. His coat looked nice and shiny and as a dog who is not always crazy about gobbling up his food- he couldn’t eat this fast enough.  I was very happy with this trial.

If I could afford to feed all my dogs raw I would because the benefits are great. Darwin’s has been so great and they were nice enough to offer this special to all our CB customers. Central Bark Coupon

I decided to add this little bit about Salmonella. If you have any questions comment below and I will be happy to answer based on my experience and knowledge.

There have been many pet food recalls lately for both dry and raw foods. And with the recent decision by the Delta Society to not allow dogs that eat a raw diet to be service animals there has been a lot of hype. What you need to know- no pet food is immune from salmonella. The good news is that common sense measures will help to prevent your risk of infection.  Wash your hands and bowls after every meal and do not leave raw meat out.  Do not prepare pet foods with the same utensils you use to handle human food. These instructions will help to minimize the risk for infection.