Pet Supplies to help Housbreak your Puppy

Housebreaking your puppy can be a frustrating experience for both you and your dog, but there are many pet supplies that can help ease the strain. You don’t have to go it alone! With so many dogs transitioning with their owners to a primarily indoor life-style, it has become much more essential to find pet supplies to help our dogs get over the “learning curve”. A quick search of related pet supplies reveals the most drastic option: pet diapers. These little numbers go right around the mid-section of your pooch, and come in both male and female configurations, and as both a disposable and a “reusable” model. I don’t have specific experience with this type of pet supplies, but from what I understand leaks and other “wardrobe malfunctions” can render the devices potentially useless, and it can be more trouble to clean up after the diaper than to clean the spot off of the floor. Another option offered by pet supplies websites is a spray that supposedly deters pets from urinating in a certain area. There is little concrete evidence that these sprays actually deter much of anything, although it certainly couldn’t hurt. Additionally, while these sprays might be good for the chronic rule-breaking dog that you need to teach a new trick or two to, common sense dictates that these pet supplies won’t be as effective for puppies which are indiscriminately “marking their space”, unless you want to coat your whole house with the stuff (there are great pet supplies to spend your money on. I suspect this isn’t one of them).
So is there no hope for the savvy urban dog owner looking to buy pet supplies to help train their puppy? Never fear, there is ALWAYS hope, but as the saying goes, god helps those who help themselves. Regardless of what the pet supplies “experts” may tell you: no, your dog will not train itself; no, there is no easy solution; and yes, you will have to put some work in; BUT, there are pet supplies that CAN help. The pet supplies I recommend are the disposable pads which can be placed on the floor. These pet supplies are cheap, easily obtainable from any pet supplies website, and will help train your dog. The downside is, there are no pet supplies that provide a no-work option, but this is about as close as it gets. Use basic treat-training/reinforcement to wean your puppy onto the pad, and from there retraining should be relatively easy. Most puppies are very easily trained in this way if consistency and sure-handedness are applied. GOOD LUCK! Please keep reading my pet supplies blog!

Pet Supplies: Your Dog’s Oral Health

Pet owners love to buy attractive dog collars, fashionable pet carriers, and all sorts of superfluous and overpriced pet supplies. But how many times has your dog’s breath incited your gag reflex? There are a tremendous number of pet supplies on the market do deal with this stinky problem, but the majority of pet owners would rather “turn the other cheek” than attempt to fix their dog’s garbage breath.
Essentially, pet supplies for your dog’s oral health break down into two main categories; pet supplies that mask the problem, and pet supplies that actually deal with the problem. Brushing your dog’s teeth can be a VERY unpleasant experience for both owner and pet. Many pet owners opt to purchase pet supplies such as food additives, pet breath mints, or chewy treats that are purported to reduce that unpleasant eau-de-garbage odor emanating from Fido’s mouth. Approaching the problem this way is analogous to replacing your toothbrush with a pack of tic-tac’s. Effective for about five seconds, but extremely unhealthy.
A quick search through any online catalogue of pet supplies will reveal that there are a tremendous number of pet supplies designed to actually deal with the problem, rather than just avoiding it. Most of the pet supplies are the pet analogues of our own toothbrushes and toothpastes. These pet supplies range from around $2 for a very usable toothbrush to $10 for a good quality toothpaste. The total cost of pet supplies required to brush your dogs teeth averages out to about $10-$15. What pet owner wouldn’t be willing to spend $15 on pet supplies to keep their dog’s mouth fresh and clean? There are other pet supplies marketed to promote your dog’s oral health, including food additives (large bottles of a questionable liquid), chewy “treats”, and other such pet supplies. But I don’t recommend these pet supplies; products marketed as miracle cures or easy fixes typically promise more than they deliver. There really is no alternative as effective as simply making the effort and actually using a toothbrush and toothpaste.
But purchasing pet supplies to keep your dog’s mouth clean isn’t just about keeping Fido’s mouth kissing fresh. It is important to remember that, just like a human, a dog’s oral health has a tremendous impact on its overall wellbeing. While it may be just about as pleasant as fishing pasta out of the sink drain, purchasing pet supplies and keeping your dog’s mouth clean is an essential and vital component of responsible pet ownership. When we become a pet owner, we enter into a basic agreement to care for our pet. Maybe before you start to drift towards the sparkly collar section of the pet supplies store, you’ll take a step back and consider your dog’s other, more fundamental needs. Please keep reading my Pet Supplies Blog!

What's in Pet Food?

When we buy pet food, we are bombarded with images of happy, healthy pets sitting under a rainstorm of prime cuts of beef, fresh vegetables, hearty grains, vitamins and minerals, which in combination instantly give your dog a shiny coat, a healthy immune system, and a happy disposition. The ingredients in our pet food, however, never meet these standards.
The primary ingredient in any pet food is a protein source. The protein source is primarily derived from animals (although sometimes from vegetables or other sources), but not in the ways that you might think. When animals are slaughtered, the choice cuts are parceled out and allotted for human consumption. The remains, including bones, blood, intestines, ligaments, and various other pieces which are deemed unfit for human consumption, are allocated to pet food, then ground up and dried into a fine powder known as “meal”. The remains which are used to make the pet food meal are of questionable nutritive value. Fresh meat contains many complexes with important consequences for the physical health of an animal organism. There is little or no nutritive value in the bones, ligaments, and other connective joinery which make up the bulk of the meal used for pet food. Another common ingredient in animal meal used for pet food is, surprisingly, dogs and cats. Although the pet food industry has frequently denied it, third party reports from the American Veterenary Medical Association has reported the frequent use of euthanized animals as a key component in meal used for pet food. The Pentobarbital which is used to euthanize animals is not cooked out or chemically altered by the rendering process, and therefore makes its way into the finished pet food. Further complicating the issue is the fact that there is no unilaterally required standard in the pet food industry for the makeup of animal meal, as it is manufactured from scraps which necessarily vary from batch to batch. Therefore statements made by the pet food manufacturers about the composition or health values or risks of animal meal can only be speculative, and it is impossible to be sure exactly what we are feeding our pets, even from can to can of the same pet food from the same source.
If you read the label of many pet foods, the main ingredient appears to be fresh meat (usually chicken), and much lower down the list you will find the “meal” component of the pet food. This is due to the misleading way in which ingredients can be displayed on pet food labels. The federal government requires labels for pet foods to include a list of ingredients, by descending weight. This weight, however, is allowed to include water weight. A massive pile of powdered animal meal is easily outweighed by even a small portion of poor quality fresh chicken, and allows pet food manufacturers to proudly display on their labels “primary ingredient- fresh chicken” which is legally true even though only a tiny fraction of the pet food is actually constituted by fresh meat.
How have pet food manufacturers been allowed to run so rampant in their practices? The sad fact is, the primary reason is due to consumer complacency. As pet owners, we are charged with caring for another life, and it is part of that charge to provide the best possible care we can. Many pet owners, though, do not ask the right questions about pet food, or care enough to find out the answers. We owe it to our pets and ourselves to take a definitive stand against the reprehensible practices so prevalent in the pet food industry which is supposed to care for “man’s best friend”.

How to Find a Pet Supply Store

Frequently, consumers in search of pet supplies are faced with finding a source for their pet supplies. There are two main sources for pet supplies, specialty pet stores, and larger big box conglomerate retailers. The advantage of buying from a pet store is, of course, the selection and information which a specialty store can provide. Many actually sell pets as well, which in addition to providing added convenience to consumers searching to add an animal to their homes, provide an important means of building brand loyalty among consumers. If you get your puppy, dog, cat, or fish from Petsmart, there is a statistically greater probability that you will return there for other pet supplies. Another advantage of buying from a pet store is that they frequently have knowledgeable experts on hand to answer your questions about pet supplies and respond to pet owner concerns. The disadvantage to buying from a specialty pet store is that the prices for pet supplies tend to be considerably higher than varied-market stores or discount stores. Many big box retailers, like Walmart, Target, and grocery-based chains offer an alternative to these high prices by stocking some pet supplies, but frequently the quality and/or quantity leaves much to be desired. Consumers in more urban centers tend to have many more choices about where to shop for pet supplies than those in rural areas. Pet owners who live in rural areas can be faced with fewer options and inferior quality pet supplies to care for their pets. Many large pet stores now offer an online alternative for your pet supplies. This can be a wonderful alternative for dog and cat owners who cannot easily access a specialty pet store. Even consumers who are within convenient distance of a brick-and-mortar store choose the speed and convenience of online pet suppliers. Many pet supplies retailers, such as PetCare Rx, JB pet supplies, Petco, and Dr. Foresters have large and easily navigated websites. Frequently, the selection of pet supplies online is better than the selection in store, and the use of a central shipping and warehousing location means that your pet supplies will only frequently be out of stock. I highly recommend shopping online as an easy alternative when buying your pet supplies. The only drawback for using an online shipper for your pet supplies is that shipping can frequently be quite expensive. Many pet supplies such as dog food are quite heavy and can prove challenging to ship. The larger stores will offer discounts to offset that cost. Wherever you purchase your pet supplies, please remember that the health, happiness, and emotional wellbeing of your pet should be your central guide. Thanks for reading Pet Supplies Reviewed!

Pet Supplies Basics

Pet Food: The Most Basic of Pet Supplies

When we talk about pet supplies, one of the first things that jumps into our minds is pet food. What we buy for our pets to eat constitutes a major part of our pet supplies related spending, and has a direct and profound impact on the health and happiness of our furry friends. But how much do we really know about the pet supplies we are buying? Pet food has become a major consumer industry, and major companies can’t help but get in on the act. Del Monte, Nestle, Colgate-Palmolive, Procter and Gamble, and Masterfoods have all expanded their industry to include pet supplies, specifically pet food.

It is very important when pet food to examine the labels and understand the common terminology associated with pet supplies. Government regulations dictate how pet supplies can be referred to. If the label says 100%, then there must be no more than 1 ingredient contained in the pet food (not including water). 95% applies if more than that percentage of the pet food is made up of animal products such as fish, chicken, or beef. When the word “dinner” is used, it indicates that no less than 25% of the pet food is constituted by meat products.

One of the largest “bones” of contention (no pun intended) currently in discussion among food scientists in the pet supplies industry regards exactly how much meat is healthy for an animal to consume (in balance with other dietary requirements). This matter is further complicated by the differences in nutrition and pet supplies required by puppies, kittens, adult cats, and adult dogs. There are also significant differences in the pet supplies required between breeds of dogs. For example, a german shepherd obviously had a very different set of nutritive needs than a beagle or a chi Wawa. There is no overwhelming consensus, and therefore a wide range of products can be found in the pet supplies industry. Recently (possibly coupling with the changing dietary habits of their owners) there has been a dramatic surge in grain and vegetable protein based foods. Prevailing wisdom dictates, though, that the majority of a carnivorous (cat or dog) diet should be constituted from animal proteins (not vegetable proteins), but that a significant portion should be dedicated to a grain base which provides other necessary nutrients.

There is a rising movement among pet owners to completely spurn the pet supplies big-wigs and feed their pet unprocessed, uncooked meats and grains. While this practice is in part based on sound principle, many other pet related issues are raised in the process, such as concerns about bacteria, and how carefully potentially uneducated owners can balance the diets of their pets. Thanks for reading, and please keep reading my pet supplies blog!

A Pet Supplies Primer

What To Consider When Buying Pet Supplies:

There are many different factors influencing how pet supplies are bought. Consumers have a wide variety of options when it comes to caring for their pets, from whether they purchase products in person at a pet store or in person, or online, to what brands are best for their animals. The choices in pet supplies confronting consumers can be overwhelming. One central question when purchasing pet supplies is what kind of animal you have, whether it’s a dog, a cat, fish, bird or reptile, or “other”. The vast majority of chain stores only cater to dogs and cats, and carry products such as carriers, dog collars, cat collars, pet crates, kennels and food. Frequently, pet stores do not stock large amounts of product for smaller pets which can be impulse buys like hamsters, beta fish, or lizards. To provide adequate care for these kinds of animals, it can often be necessary to visit smaller specialty stores to purchase pet supplies, which can be quite expensive. It is important to realize, though, that caring for smaller pets with a possibly shorter lifespan is no less of a commitment than caring for a more “conventional” pet like a dog or a cat. Another important factor in determining the best route in purchasing pet supplies is the age of the animal. Puppies, particularly german shepherd puppies or golden retriever puppies require a very different type of pet supplies than older animals do. Puppies require a very differently balanced diet, higher in nutrients required for growth and the massive energy burning potential of a very active young animal. The same is true of kittens. Another concern which pet owners face is whether to buy pet supplies in person, or over the internet. Internet pet stores can provide a convenient alternative to finding a conventional store location to purchase pet supplies, however there are definite tradeoffs to be seen. Brick-and-mortar pet stores can often provide a level of care and expertise which it is difficult for most computer based sites to match. They frequently have in-store experts to answer questions regarding pet supplies and general animal related knowledge, as well as respond to specific concerns. They also have dogs for sale and cats for sale, which most web retailers steer away from, due to the complicated nature of resulting transactions. It can also prove difficult to ship the heavy, bulky pet supplies which pets require, such as dog food, cat food, kennels, carriers. The advantage is, though, that buying pet supplies online can often save consumers time and money which is often enough incentive for them to make the switch from a brick-and-mortar store to an online retailer. Keep in mind, wherever you decide to buy your pet supplies, the central issue is not convenience or price, but rather the health, happiness, stability, and relationship with your pet. Please keep reading my page for more great information about pet supplies.

Pet Supplies Reviewed

Welcome to Pet Supplies Reviewed. This site is designed to answer common questions regarding the needs of your pet, from where to find local Pet Stores to what brands of dog collars are best. Feel free to comment if you have any questions.