Want to know what goes on inside an Australian rendering plant? Listen to what previous staff had to say… Great interview on ABC news Australia this week. It’s fair to say this news company is ALL OVER the latest scandal from Mars Pet Food, this time with their magic Dermal
WITH LAB-GROWN MEAT POISED TO HIT US SUPERMARKET SHELVES BY THE END OF THE YEAR, HERE’S THE LOW DOWN…AND IT’S ALL GOOD! You heard that correctly. Lab-grown meat, a.k.a. “clean meat”, is coming to a supermarket near you soon. What does this mean for meat eaters, raw-feeding dog owners and
A Note on Pet Insurance for Cost (and Drug) Conscious Pet Owners in Ireland & UK… For dog owners concerned about over-vaccination and getting ripped off in general, pet insurance is a bit of a daunting minefield. I did a little digging, made a few calls and largely have drawn
INDUSTRIAL FARMING THRIVING IN THE UK, UNLIKE THE POOR ANIMALS LIVING INSIDE THEM If we saw a person on the street hitting, hurting or killing a dog or a neighbour penning a dog in a sterile cage in the back of the garden to live in it’s own filth, with no
DUDLEY 8 MONTHS ON…A NEW DIRECTION… So, this is how Duds walks now, 8 months post op. He’s looking lean and his gait is pretty good, but there is work to be done on his hind muscle mass. On that note, I have an idea… Just to remind you
INCREASE OF LUNGWORM IN DOGS IN NORTH DUBLIN… Dr. Emily McAteer, Dublin Holistic Vet, emailed me an alert over the weekend regarding lungworm in dogs. I trust her opinion 100% when it comes to the prevalence of critters (she’s no scaremongerer) so thought I’d repost what she sent below, in
Is Bravecto safe for dogs? Well, in 21 months it sold 40mil doses. In that time, the EMA cites it killed every 52,000 doses. How badly do you want to kill the fleas your dog doesn’t have?! Bravecto is a flea and tick killer made by pharmaceutical giant Merck. It’s
What I Learned From the Chronicles of Frankenstein… New babies mean you get to watch more TV. This means you can stray into parts of teleworld you might not normally venture into. Case in point, the Frankenstein Chronicles starring Sean Bean. I like a bit of horror / zombie action
How Vets are Being Encouraged to Extract More Money From Pet Owners… I was contacted by a lady yesterday who was entirely exasperated with her vet who had been pushing a dry diet on her mother’s dog as fresh food “is not good for the teeth”. Of all topics to tackle,
Meet Jenny Golsby of The Complete Pet Company, Maker of one of the First Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Foods… I have just been sent a few samples of what is possibly the world’s first, truly-raw-but-freeze-dried raw dog food product. It is made by the wonderful Jenny Golsby in Australia. Jen is
Did you know that horsemeat was the primary, indeed the only, meat ingredient used in canned dog food until the 1940’s?! Horse was so popular in fact that dog food companies owned their own horse meat supplies. Then WWII, with the ensuing shortage of horses and metal, coupled with the
Who are Medivet?! Ownership of the health profession is every multinational’s dream. To highlight this, let me give you two stories: Highlighted back in 1997 by Parker-Pope of the Wall Street Journal, in a piece called “Colgate Gives Doctors Treats For Plugging Its Food Brands”, Colgate-Palmolive (CP) were the first
RAW CHICKEN IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY TO CAUSE PARALYSIS IN DOGS… Recently, Melbourne University produced a study investigating Acute PolyradiculoNeuritis (APN) in dogs. This is an immune-mediated peripheral nerve disorder where a suspected trigger is the bacterial pathogen Campylobacter spp. In a piece entitled “Raw Chicken Linked to Paralysis in Dogs”, the university
All Dog Food Comparison Websites are Affiliate Sites, But What Does That Mean to You the Consumer? There are lots of dog food comparison sites, some more popular and useful than others, so I thought I’d do a quick blog to explain a little about affiliate marketing and what it
Vets are Taking Action Against the Rise in Brachycephalic (Short-Nosed) Breeds… Going to cause a row here with this one, and many of my friends have these breeds, but this is now becoming a hot topic of conversation… There is growing rumblings among vets in Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, U.K.
STAGE 1 OF THE DOGS FIRST TRIAL OF GRASS EATING IN DOGS IS COMPLETE… We wanted to investigate why dogs eat grass so we rounded up 10 very keen grass eaters (85 applied, so lots are at it), 5 dry fed and 5 fresh fed dogs, to run a little trial.
Giant Survey Reveals Shocking Amount of Illness in Dogs 3 Months Post-Vaccination… Canine Health Concern is a fabulous resource. Run by Catherine O’Driscoll, it’s largely CHC that inspires me to seek out the juicier stories out there. She is an outspoken critic of over-vaccination and, more importantly, puts them repeatedly
Soo, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons UK has released its statement on complementary medicines. Needless to say, it doesn’t bode well for homeopathy… Let’s get straight into it. Please note, I have added italics for emphasis in their comments where necessary. It begins with: We have recently been asked questions about
More Shame on Ireland: Our Worst Puppy Farmers are EXPANDING Their Highly Profitable Businesses… Yes, you read that correctly. They’re expanding with blessing from the government. This isn’t breaking news either. In March 2017 permission was granted to Raymond Cullivan, the guy at the centre of the BBC’s disgraceful puppy farming
WHERE DO YOUR “SUPER” FOODS COME FROM?! God I hate the term “super” food. Literally, give me any fruit / veg / seed / algae / bit of mould and I bet you I can find an article on the web in less than 15 seconds explaining to us how
It’s That Time of Year Again, Here’s How to Get Dogs Through Halloween Safely… I can already here the bangers going off. Not your pet’s favourite time of year, that’s for sure. For those of you with new pets or simple those that you know might worry about the sounds of
Anyone Ever Heard or Ideally Used an Assissi Loop, or Anything Similar?! A friend of mine has an old dog with bad joint issues, hip dysplasia and canine arthritis. She’s trying everything including a great diet, getting him nice and lean (with good muscle tone), some great natural additions such
The Top 5 Kennels in the World I was over with the very appropriately named Aileen Woulfe in Switzerland last week doing a nutrition talk. Aileen runs Happy Dogs Aigle. Now, you might think you’ve seen some fancy kennels in your time, you’ve undoubtedly seen some pricey ones after all it’s
I was so saddened to read a headline in the Journal.ie yesterday. It read “Epilepsy drug which has left 400 Irish children with disabilities to come under EU review today”… The FACS (foetal anticonvulsant syndrome) Forum Ireland, an umbrella group of patients and disability organisations, estimates that sodium valproate has
This week Dudley begins his various therapies, most importantly physio and hydrotherapy. The progress we have seen in this week along is frankly, incredible. On just his second hydro session, just four days after his first, the therapist said this could easily be a different dog. Wait until you see
Dog in a Box Part 2 – What You Will Need Dudley, a.k.a. the “Dog in a Box”, is recovering from a spinal operation. A ruptured disc, to be exact. This series of videos charters his long road to hopeful recovery and back to rude, waggy health. In this second part
Feeding Dogs for the Toughest Endurance Race Imaginable…. I did a seminar for a small group in Dublin recently. There was a great mix of people there, a few Stafford breeders, some Rottie owners and some working dog owners. The latter group were speaking very highly of Dr. Arleigh Jones.
How to Stop Dogs Going Mad at the Door… Dudley doesn’t bark all too often but I know it would drive me nuts if my dogs kicked off every time a visitor called to the door. Anyone else have that problem? A simple cure, should you want to calm it
Eastern and Western Nutritional Philosophies Eastern and Western cultures have, on the face of it, quite unique ways of looking at food and nutrition as a whole. However, we both agree on many things: We both agree that proper nutrition is essential for achieving optimal health We both agree individual
New Poll – Have you or Your dog Taken Anti-Inflammatories Recently? Anti-inflammatory and drug use as a whole is rocketing in pets. To prove this I’ve got a double poll for you today guys. If you aren’t sure what those tablets or that injection was your vet gave you, you can
What Does Scientifically Proven Mean? So, we had quite a heated debate last week on our Facebook page. Debate might be the wrong word mind. It was more of an argument. A scientific debate is where two scientists debate a topic, such as the importance of fresh ingredients or the
Why is This Dry Dog Food Label so Hilarious?! A great pic was doing the rounds the other day. It was held up as an example of how manufacturers will try and jam as many cool buzz words on to their dry food product as possible, bamboozling the owner into
Why a 50% Carbohydrate Diet Gives Dogs Cancer Did you know domestic dogs are ten times more likely to get cancer than humans? They are the most cancer stricken animals on the planet. This is a total disgrace when Western dogs are so adored, so pampered. One more little fact,
So You’re Getting a Pup Part 4 – Basics of Dog Training So your pup is now in your home 2-3 weeks. He’s settling in well. He loves bed time. He loves his tasty raw puppy diet. His toilet training should now be well under control. If not know that
Socialising Your Puppy to Experiences Outside the Home is Crucial but Care Must be Taken… At this stage your pup has been with you a couple of weeks. So far you have crate trained him, so much so that he is no doubt wandering in and out of it regularly
New Pup Part two – Toilet Training, Establishing Their Name as well as the Come and Wait Commands… In New Pup Part 1 of this “new pup” series, we taught you the vital basics of what to do before your pup comes along, including what they will need to eat, where
Results from the Canna-Pet CBD Trial… You may remember I got on to the company making Canna-Pet CBD oil for pets some time ago. I proposed to them that I would put 6 dogs with various health conditions which might benefit from CBD (Cannabidiol) oil supplementation (largely skin and joint
So You’re Getting a Puppy! Here’s how to Prepare and Tips for the Dreaded First-Night! No house is a home without a dog. I truly believe this. However, getting a dog is no small decision. Dogs are another family member. He will need good food and health care. Neither of
What to do With all Your PolyStyrene Boxes There is no alternative to a fresh meat diet for dogs and cats. However, the whole process comes with many costs. And no, the financial cost is not one of them as you can feed them fresh food for the same price
Petition: Make the Labelling of Un-Stunned Meat in Ireland Mandatory Even if we’re not all meat eaters ourselves, we’re all meat feeders on this site. You have heard me post a few times recently about the use of unlabelled un-stunned meat in our supermarkets as well as, very very likely,
The UK Halal Sector and its Implications for Your raw dog Food of Choice… As my recent articles on Halal / kosher meat production in Ireland have indicated, non-stunned meat is not required to be labelled as such for the normal, non-halal market, thus we don’t know if we have
Multinationals Have Turned Veterinary Science Into the Veterinary Industry… I’m not supposed to be blogging on my holiday but I can’t help it. This is just too big and too serious an event. Mars have taken a huge step towards controlling a hefty chunk of the vet hospitals in the US.
Nutriscan – Food Sensitivity and Intolerance Testing by Jean Dodds So many people come to fresh feeding as their dog suffers recurring skin and gut upset. They even run an exclusion diet and still their dog itches. If you’re one of these you might consider a Nutriscan by Jean Dodds.
Do you Care how the Meat in Your dog Food Died? I had a disturbing conversation with a big meat man that I wanted to share with you. The guy has been in the meat industry for 40 years. A major Irish producer, some of the stories he can tell you
New Poll: Is Your dog Neutered? Results of last week’s poll, where we asked if you have pet health insurance or not, are in. It was practically a dead heat the entire time, finishing with 78/154 (51%) of you saying “yes” you have health insurance for them! Very interesting. Our
[poll id=”4″] Pet Insurance is a hot Topic… Some reading the above headline might be surprised. Others less so. The truth is health insurance is a good thing. Ask anyone waiting on trolleys in the public sector. When it comes to our pet’s health though, it gets a little more grey.
Alabama Rot in Dogs, can we all Just Relax a bit… A hot topic zooming around the internet at the moment is Alabama Rot in dogs of the UK. This is despite the fact that zero cases of Alabama Rot have been actually confirmed, that reported cases still number below
Natural Sunscreen for Dogs… A VERY optimistic poster just asked me did I know of any natural sunscreen ideas for a very white little Staffie pup. This was interesting as I remember hearing that seed oils are naturally SPF. Two things you might not know about sunscreen. The first is,
Travelling Abroad With Your dog, a Note on Blood Titres and Passports… As the evidence builds against the gross over-vaccination of our pets, more and more people are asking me for travel advice, specifically on vaccinations when crossing borders. Currently, pets are required to be dosed up to the eyeballs
Waivers for Kennels and Daycares… I think the majority of us on here do not believe in the practice of annually boosting already vaccinated animals, or an entirely ineffective kennel cough “vaccine”, not to mention chemical flea or worm control for animals with no parasites. The problem for us arises
Ever Wonder how / why Dogs can Suffer Chicken and Beef Allergies?! A New Theory… As I like to say, a dog being allergic to beef or chicken should be as strange as a cow being allergic to grass. So, how can dogs become sensitive to a food group that
Botanica, Natures Healing Energy So, who’s heard of Botanica?! As we’re now stocking them! Botanica is an Irish company making natural products that target the heal and repair of a great variety of common skin conditions in dogs (as well as horses and humans). And by all accounts they do it
Top Tips for Buying the Best Dry Dog Food If you absolutely have to feed dry food, for whatever reason, then it really doesn’t matter who is making or selling your “complete” dry food of choice, as there’s so little between these brands, bar marketing budget. So here’s a few top tips
Check out the Number of UK Vets now Offering Blood Titres! For those of you who don’t know already, the whole redundant concept of boosting ALREADY VACCINATED DOGS each year for viruses is now second only to the concept of promoting cereal-based dry food for carnivores on the list of
Biodegradable Poo Bags, The Inside Scoop! Nice title, eh?! Seriously though, we know plastic is really bad for the environment. Plastic goes into landfill and doesn’t break down. Or, it does, but extremely slowly, meaning it releases all it’s chemical nastiness slowly through all the garbage into our water table.
Do you have a license for your dog?! I was approached yesterday with the question – how many dogs are there in Ireland? However, in trying to research the answer I came across a more interesting question, how many of you actually have a dog license?! Here’s what we found…
Applied ZooPharmacognosy Two weeks ago a lady asked me did I know of any Applied ZooPharmacognosy (AZ) practioners in Northern Ireland? In Northern Ireland?!!! I don’t even know any in the South either. In fact, to be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure what it was. Then I got to thinking.
Fish Oil Supplementation in Dogs I just read an interesting point on Patricia Gethin’s excellent forum re fish oil supplementation in dogs. It concerned a dog owner in Australia who had been giving 8 capsules of fish oil tablets to her 3yr old, fresh fed, 80kg Neopolitan Mastiff (example above,
Our dogs might remember a lot more than we have given them credit for… It has long been an old adage that dogs do not reflect on events in the recent past. For this reason you should never chastise them after an event such as a chewing of your chew
Welcome to the Clone Factory… Our fourth installation of the top 5 most interesting studies to come out on dogs in 2016, this one is about cloning and involves laboratories that are putting out 500 new animals a week, wolves born to dogs and an opportunity to resurrect the dead! In an effort
Lots of Folk Recommend Oregano Oil for Fighting Bacteria AND Colds, But Does it Work and who Says?! Oregano oil is recommended for treating kennel cough in dog by many websites, including Dogs Naturally Magazine. In fact every single natural-type website has it top of the list for all the
A few Things Every Six Year Old Should Know About Their Dog… So I had a great time with the 1st classers last Thursday out in Clonsilla! There was around a million of them, split into 4 separate groups. I’ve never been in such a big school. After two hours, and
Kelp for Cancer…And Everything Else So much disease in humans is the result of nasty, reactive baddies called free radicles (oxidants) which whizz around inside us. They are responsible for most inflammatory and cardiovascular disease, cancer and ageing. How do they get in? For the large part, we eat them (processed foods, unnatural
Influence of Big Pharma in Ireland: Uncovered Anyone see that article in the Sunday Business Post on the influence of corporate sponsorship in Irish surgeries and hospitals nationwide? It was a cracker, everything you hoped wasn’t true but feared it was. The lead caption said it all: Big drug firms pay almost one-third
Tell Your Boss: Dogs Make Offices More Cohesive and Stress-Free, It’s Official! While I was over in New York last week I was talking to a group of guys in a bar and thought to ask them about dogs in work. It’s a big thing in the US at the moment.
Did you Find it Worrying That the Nutritional Manual for our Vets is Published by Colgate-Palmolive? A little (true) story…. Around 2010 I flew to Brisbane, Australia to see first hand the effects of switching a large group of dogs from dry to raw. The differences in the dogs were
Would You Drink a Little Anti-Bacterial Spray Every Day?! So Why Feed it to Your Dog… I remember a story a photographer once told me, how he kept old pieces of break in his shed to attract birds for his snaps. He threw a baguette from a petrol station in
Maxizoo Products: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly! I love popping into my local Maxizoo. You get lots of ideas for blogs for one! One thing they have right in there is the staff. They are so friendly, very eager to help. Another thing they have right is that
Studies Debunk Veterinary Prescribed and Single Protein Dry Dog Food Diets as a Route to Determining Adverse Food Reactions in Dogs… A recent study in the Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition examined 12 limited-antigen diets for dogs from 5 separate manufacturers (11 novel protein diets and 1 hydrolysed protein
Why Do Vets Recommend “That” Dry Food?! Are Irish vets not yet wondering why the only dry food they choose to stock (Royal Canin) is rated a miserable 2.5 stars out of 5 by Dog Food Advisor? With Science Diet not performing that much better (3 stars out of 5).
120 Fatal Reactions to the Leptospirosis Vaccine NOBIVAK L4 in its First Three Years…” Quite the stat from the Daily Telegraph (02/07/16), wasn’t it?! Just another annual booster that we are told is “perfectly safe to be given each year”, which is sadly killing hundreds of dogs in just the
IN THE 1980’s 40% OF PETS EUTHANISED IN LARGE US CITIES WERE RENDERED FOR MEAT OR BONE MEAL AND PUT BACK IN TO THE ANIMAL FOOD CHAIN…INCLUDING DRY DOG FOOD What?!! No! Couldn’t be, surely? I was on a veterinary forum last night. They were discussing the “myths of raw
Natural Dog Treats Part 2 – Best Natural Dog Treats and Yummy Recipes! In my previous post we discussed how murky the dog treat world is. It should come as no surprise as it is largely controlled by the same companies that brought your dry, cereal-based food for a carnivore. Whatever regulation
Make Your Own Dog Treats, Naturally… As we all slowly get wiser to the toll dry feeding can take on our little carnivores, attentions naturally shift to everything else that we’re being sold by the industry. I’ve covered chemical parasite control for dogs with no parasites amply already, as we
Hands up Who’s Given Their Dog Antibiotics in the Last Year? Has anyone noticed that the application of antibiotics (often used with in conjunction with steroids) is now absolutely routine by your vet? Got a cough? Antibiotic. Got a dickie tum? Antibiotic. Got a rash? Antibiotic. Got a sore ear? Antibiotic.
How to get Better Coat Condition in Dogs… The below is not a photo-shopped dog. This is what a black Labrador can look like given the right nutrition. Beautiful eh? The key to better coat condition in dogs is absolutely all about the diet. We all want a good coat but
I was reading a post in The Journal over the weekend. Iran sent in the authorities to remove all dogs from people’s homes. Needless to say it didn’t go down well with the poor owners. Especially the way they did it, if there was a way to do it. The
Dog Bites Continued: With Input from Paraic O Sullieabhain I had a great response to my article on the Irish Governments “Dangerous Dogs” signs / approach last week. Sadly not every point was spot on. The main man with all the experience in this field is Páraic Ó Súilleabháin. He
It’s funny, when we think of really poor dry dog food we imagine it coming from the likes of China, largely a result of the melamine scandal (when a chemical fertiliser used to boost the apparent protein content of the food, saving the company having to use more expensive items
The idea of flea chemically bombarding your dogs is ridiculous for many good reasons, the main one being THEY DON’T HAVE FLEAS… First and foremost it is highly unlikely your dog actually has fleas. Think about it, have you deloused your child this month? No?!!!! But head lice!! They’re eeevvvverrryywhherree…As it happens
Unlike Human Food Products, The Watchdogs Guarding Your Pet From Poor Quality Dog Food Products are Practically Non-Existent…. In human health and nutrition, the burden of ensuring a product’s safety, efficacy and any claims of benefit is on governmental organisations that independently test drug and food product manufacturers. In dog health
Great Home Made Spray for an Itchy Dog So you have an itchy dog. First things first, everyone wants the quick fix but more important than what you put in at this point is what you STOP putting in. After all, if your friend has a shrimp allergy and you
We’ve all suffer it at some stage, it’s just we don’t go round licking each others faces every chance we get. Bad breath in dogs arises for the same reasons it does in humans. However persistent bad breath (halitosis) needs attention. Why So Much Bad Breath in Dogs? The most
Among a host of other issues, Dudley didn’t toilet train as quickly as I thought he might have. This was disappointing and somewhat embarrassing when people came to visit as this was bread and butter stuff in guide dogs. So it got me thinking on the best toilet training tips for
Should you need a little hand holding, I’m here to help. Consultations are typically 1 hour in length: 15 minutes to read your presubmitted questionnaire and prepare for your pet, 30-40 minutes with you directly via Zoom / Skype and 10-15 minutes to write your summary email, including all necessary tips and their diet plan. It also includes a follow up email should you need it.
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Advice, training and support from dog nutrition specialist, Dr. Conor Brady who delivers his teaching based on no-nonsense, well-researched and factual information so that dog owners can gain a greater understanding of their dogs, their dog’s nutritional needs and the natural health of their pets.
As well as being a dog nut, I am a Dog Nutritionist, Writer, Research, Speaker and Consult on all things canine nutrition and health. My blog, which has become a trusted and valuable resource for all dog owners, is now read by more than 200,000 people per month. I established Dogs First to give dog owners a better understanding of what’s right and wrong when it comes to feeding and maintaining the health of their dogs.
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