1. We always buy holistic pet food. I'ts really not that much more expensive and well worth the peace of mind when those dog food recalls pop up. The ingredients are sooooo much better then even the top shelf brands of dog foods.
We use Solid Gold and Grammy's Pot Pie brands.
2. Filtered water is not just for the humans. If you won't drink the water, why should your pets! We fill their water dishes and mix their food with filtered water from our Pur faucet filter.
3. No harsh chemical flea and tick killers. I make my own out of essential oils. Read the warning labels on that stuff, scary! I also do not use harsh lawn chemicals. Again, for the safety of all the kritters, we go organic. A little tabacco juice and kitchen dish soap can go along way in lawn care without spending the bucks.
4. Stand up and speak for those that can't. Donate what you can to help our furry friends. Time, money, a little effort, heck, even wearing a t-shirt to bring awareness to the general public about a animal cause you feel strongly about. I wear my " no puppy mills" or " don't breed or buy while shelter pets die" t-shirts on a regular basis. Especially when the local pet shop is advertising a puppy sale. What better time to slip on the t-shrits and go for a stroll through the pet shop while people are looking to buy puppies!!

As an organic farmer and longterm practitioner of natural skincare, I have launched a product line featuring natural, essential oil products for people and pets. Does your Sassy have hot spots or dry, itchy skin? Does your Buster the Barn Cat suffer from fleas and ticks? Does your Sandy the goat or Blondie the miniature horse suffer from mosquitoes and flies? My all-natural products not only combat the attack, but calm the skin from cuts, bites, hot spots and more.

My pet blends are available as shampoo, conditioner, a detangler/spray (for between shampoo treatments, bedding and barn) and oils for concentrated delivery. Orders for my products are taking off following my first pet event where I launched the line on April 3.

Take a look at my website for more info on my products, to email me with questions, to take a look at upcoming events where you can talk to me personally or to make an entry in my new blog. Now is the perfect time to start your furry kids on natural products that are not only good for their skin and coat, but will give them that all-important protection from stinging, biting spring/summer/fall pests.

Love your babies ... I love mine, all 100+ of them!!!

Thanks for your comments, guys!

Victoria, have you checked your products' ingredients in Skin Deep? I think you might be surprised, especially about that Sodium Laureth Sulfate.

Replace plastic pet bowls with stainless steel or a safe ceramic (make sure it is lead free). We use pyrex. Plastic can give off vapors and it can be hard to clean (bacteria can hide in those little scratches). Clean your pet's bowls every day -- we use baking soda, white vinegar and hot water.

There are a lot of pet foods out there that are good for animals and safe and non toxic, but they are more expensive. We need to find a way to get more nutritious and safer food into the mainstream- just like human food. The safe food shouldn't be more expensive! IT SHOULD BE WHAT WE ARE ALL USING!!!!
::whew:: sorry got too excited- visit a local pet store and talk to them- learn how to read the labels & don't forget that just because it sounds good for you, doesn't mean it is the best for your four legged friend! Also for skin products, companies like EARTHBATH are fantastic and using safe products! you really shouldn't use human products on animals, they can sometimes be too rough on a very sensitive skin.

If you are looking for the reason why there is a sudden, and apparently inexplicable drop in a dog or cat's health and performance then continue to read...A drop in the pH indicates an increase in the acidity of the blood. In lay terms, this is referred to as 'acidosis", but more correctly it is the lowering of the ALKALINE RESERVES. At INNERLIGHT we are promoting AlkaPet. Our brand new alkalizing and energizing pet treat is a healthy and delicious snack for dogs, cats, birds, horses and any other furry family members. In addition to AlkaPet, we suggest SuperGreens, SuperSoy and Prime pH for your pets. The pet industry is one of the top four fastest growing industries in the world today, along with health, water purification and skin care. Did you hear that? "Water promises to be to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th century: the precious commodity that determines the wealth of nations." — Fortune magazine. Drinking pure water isn’t enough. It is equally important to cook with it and bathe or shower with it. Chemicals in tap water enter your pet body through the skin and can also be inhaled as gasses. Enough said, SimplyPure Whole Home Water System is important to your family's health...and that includes our four-legged kids. I love my 13 year old Yorkie and 11 year old African Grey!

Eddie said in the Healthy Pet Tips to "ask your vet or local pet store about safer flea treatments and repellents," but more often or not they'll steer you to one or more of the Permethrin (a neurotoxin) based flea/tick repellents, that are anything but safe. See http://www.elversonpuzzle.com/biospot.html for additional information (the same symptoms have been reported for all the permethrin repellent products like BioSpot)

For an inexpensive and safe alternative, try Apple Cider Vinegar both in your pet's food or water daily and as an after-shampoo rinse. I googled "ACV dog dose" and came up with the following: http://search.live.com/results.aspx?srch=105&FORM=AS5&q=acv+dog+dose. Another site I found that has dosages for all kinds of animals is: http://www.crossgatesfarm.co.uk/apple-cider-vinegar.xhtml. Besides flea and tick control, there are tons of other uses for ACV. Note that some of the sites warn about using ACV if there is any indication of yeast sensitivities, but I've also read that it treats yeast infections, so go figure...

Brewer's Yeast is another item that I was looking into, but since it's high on the allergy food list, I don't know if nutritional yeast would be a good substitute (depending on who you read, it's either the same thing, similar or not). That is actually what I'm using on my dog, since I can get it less expensively in bulk form (and get smaller amounts if I want). I do believe I will keep the dose low, however, and look more to the ACV as the flea/tick deterrent.

Many people feed garlic as a repellent, but after reading the following article, you may want to rethink that: http://www.petsbynature.com/Garlic.htm

Also, Eddie mentioned using baby shampoo instead of pet products, but not all baby shampoos are created equal either. Look for ALL-natural baby shampoos with labels that say phthalate-free or contact the company and ask. Or try an ALL-natural pet product. Realize that just because it says natural or organic on it, doesn't mean that it doesn't also contain harmful chemicals. Some don't list the ingredients, or only the active ingredients, but (as in many repellents) the inactive ingredients can be harmful as well. Contact the company and ask.

Thanks for all the helpful advice. We really love this site.

In honor of "the carnival of green pets", we did a special post on our dog blog about "green cleaning".

Here is the link:
http://meeanddeeholidogs.blogspot.com/

Thanks again!
- K, Mee & Dee :)

Great blog you have. Here is a link to the post I would like to submit for the carnival:

http://blog.ourdoglog.com/2008/04/control-fleas-on-your-dog-or-cat.html

Thanks for this opportunity.
Chris

The Cat/Dog Log