healthy dogs

It’s a pretty well known fact that dogs love to play outside in the summer. Whether it’s chasing a ball outside on the lawn, taking a dip in the family pool, or just laying out in the warm sun our furry friends just can’t seem to get enough of the outdoors!

Even though our dogs are enjoying the weather changes to the summer season, there are several measures we should take as pet owners to protect the safety and health of our canine companions. If not taken care of properly, dogs can suffer from dehydration, sunburns, and heat strokes. Make sure to follow these simple precautions for a safe, fun-filled summer with your pooch.

Take them to the vet
A check-up is important to make sure your dog will start off the summer with a clean bill of health. Have your pet checked for heartworms and other parasites.

Fresh, cool water
It is essential to give your dog water, even more so in the hot summer months! Make sure your dog’s water bowl is always replenished with fresh, cool water and is kept in a shady location.

Shelter from the sun
Dogs might love to sunbathe, but they need a cool, shady place to relax. Shade from trees or an insulated doghouse can help keep your dog cool when the sun becomes unbearable.

Pets in cars
Never leave your pets alone in a parked car. The inside of the car can become like a furnace, even with the windows slightly opened.

Doggy haircuts
Start your pup’s summer in style with a lightweight haircut that helps prevent overheating. Shave their hair to about one inch in length to protect their bare skin from sunrays.

Pools are for cooling
Pools of any size can be a great way to keep your dog cool. Be sure to supervise your dog at all times since not all canines are great swimmers.

Be street smart
Don’t let your pooch slouch and lay down on the hot asphalt. Sensitive paws can burn and their bodies can heat up extra quick. Make sure to keep walks in hot weather to a minimum.

Fan your dog
Air conditioning is a great way to keep your dog cool, but if it is not readily accessible, make sure to place fans in areas where your dog likes to sleep.

Give your dog a Freshpet frozen treat
Cool down your pup on a warm sunny day with our all natural frozen treats. Our Wag-gurt Frozen Organic Yogurt and  Chilly Wags ice cream is a special indulgent summer snack for your dog.

Freshpet pup Hudson enjoying a Dog Joy Fresh Bone.

This week’s blog post is written by Justin, Freshpet Sales:

I am lucky to have the easiest job at Freshpet…Sales.

Don’t tell my boss, but most of the hard-sell is done every day by thousands of dogs across the country.

My dog, Hudson, loves Freshpet. Every once and awhile when he doesn’t get it for dinner, he gives me a look that speaks a thousand words. He’s too sweet to pout for long, but he makes his point and next time he gets his favorite.

Hudson loves to chase, catch, and eat lizards in the back yard. He could hunt them from sun up to sun down if I would stand out there with him. Sometimes I need a break from all the hunting, and Hudson needs something to do. Freshpet’s Dog Joy Fresh Bones keep him busy and happy while cleaning his teeth. I have tried many bones, but I like Freshpet’s best because they are all natural and don’t have any of the usual fillers like corn, wheat, soy, or cellulose.

Working for a company that makes healthy products that my dog craves so much makes me feel great about my job!

Grain-free dog and cat foods are slowly becoming a favorite for those who wish to feed their pets a more ancestral diet and for those who want to minimize the risk of food allergies. Grains can cause some canine allergies, and this can make it very difficult for a dog to digest. Here are some common symptoms of dog allergies to grains:

Symptoms of Food Allergies in Dogs

• Itchy, red, flaky skin
• Excessive chewing and licking of the abdomen, groin, and paws
• Reddened, pink, or oozing ears
• Areas of balding
• Dark pigmentation of the skin
• Bacterial infections

We recommend that you see a veterinarian immediately should your dog display any of these symptoms. Food allergies can be treated once your dog has been tested and you have found what is the root of the problem. Wheat and corn often do cause allergies in animals, so it is best to avoid these ingredients in your dog’s food.

Since some of the more common food allergies are due to grains, we created our grain-free line Freshpet Vital for dogs and cats, which has recipes that contain 80% or more animal protein and 10% fruits and vegetables. Vital recipes provide a grain-free alternative that can benefit pets with coat and skin problems.

Is a Grain-Free Diet Right For Your Pet?

Although feeding a grain-free diet to your cat or dog is a healthy option, it is not necessarily better. Feeding your pet an all-natural, fresh diet from the start should have them healthy throughout the course of their life.

Day to day operations at Freshpet range from making sure our foods are of the highest quality, to answering your questions on Facebook, to sending out refrigerators to various grocery and pet specialty stores. But even though all of us at the office have different roles, titles, and responsibilities, we all have one thing in common: our core belief that pets deserve to eat fresh, less processed foods, just like we do.

We have profiled several team members already, but over the course of the next couple of months we will continue to introduce other employees. We want you to get a chance to know who is making your furry friend’s fresh meals and treats!

Learn More about Freshpet

If you haven’t yet, be sure to visit our About Us section to learn a little more about our mission and who we are. Also, feel free to send us a note, review, or just some general feedback on our foods by visiting our Contact Us section of our website. We are always open to new ideas and love hearing from our consumers.

This picture was taken during a Freshpet Team Meeting in Secaucus, NJ.

My dog loves Freshpet Ready to Bake Cookies just as they are: freshly baked mounds of doggie goodness! (Dog Joy Peanut Butter & Oatmeal are his favorite).

But sometimes, I like to jazz them up a bit, either before or after baking.

Check out these fun ways to add a personal touch to your dog’s cookies, along with some fun ways to serve them!

Fun Ways to Make Freshpet Dog Cookies

Prior to baking a batch of Freshpet cookies, you could add a little variety to each cookie in the following ways:

• Press a few small pieces of your dog’s favorite treat into the center of the dough.
• Drop a tiny mound of canned pumpkin on top of the cookie
• Press unsalted sunflower seeds into the top and bottom of the cookie
• Sprinkle or press fresh parsley on top of the cookie. Parsley helps with bad dog breath!
• Press a doggie breath mint into the center of the cookie. The mint itself will melt into the cookie — which is great if your dog doesn’t particularly like the taste of mint. (My dog doesn’t, but he’ll eat the mints when they’re mixed in things like cookies).
• Drop some bits of chunky peanut butter on top — either before or after baking.
• Shred or dice some fresh vegetables or berries and press a few pieces into the cookie

The possibilities are endless. There are so many human foods that are safe for dogs. You could add just about any of them to Freshpet Ready to Bake Cookies. That way, it’s as if your dog is getting a brand new treat every time you make them!

Fun Ways to Serve Dog Cookies

In addition to all the fun ways that you can make dog cookies, I also like to think of fun ways to serve them. Some ideas to try:

• Instead of doling them out one-by-one as regular dog cookies all the time, I sometimes break them into smaller pieces and use them to stuff my dog’s Kong toy. Mixed in with a little bit of peanut butter or plain yogurt, this makes an extra nice treat for your dog!
• Of course, it’s a no-brainer to reward your dog with a treat after he does something that you’ve requested on command. While everyday commands like “come” and “sit” typically earn my dog regular treats, more challenging commands like “tell me a secret” and “bring me the remote” definitely deserve a homemade dog cookie!
• This next idea is similar to making a frosted cookie for your dog. Just smear a lot of peanut butter across the top of a fresh-baked cookie – just like icing! Or, turn it into a double-decker cookie (or mini-cupcake) by sandwiching two cookies together with peanut butter in the middle and on top.
• And finally, my favorite way to serve dog cookies is to play a game of hide-and-seek with my dog where the cookies are the prize. He sits and waits while I hide several cookies (or pieces of cookies) in various places of one room. When I say, “Okay!” he runs to find as many hidden cookies as he can.

Dog treats, like Freshpet Ready to Bake Cookies, are a fun way to reward your dog with an extra special treat, and also a fun way to play and communicate with your dog in a way that’s different from your day-to-day routine.

What fun things do you like to do when making or serving your dog cookies?

Lynnette Walczak is a lifelong dog owner who writes about fun dog stuff at The Fun Times Guide to Dogs. As publisher of TheFunTimesGuide.com, she enjoys sharing outside-the-box ideas and helping people find unique ways to do things.

It can be difficult to find time to take a walk outside with your pooch when you’re juggling the work/life balance. It does not mean that our dogs have to become unhealthy though. Here are some time-saving ideas so that you can cycle, play fetch, go out for a run, or do some other form of exercise with your pooch.

Skip The Gym - If you go to the gym regularly after work, take 1 or 2 days off to run with your dog instead. It’ll be like running at the treadmill at the gym, but instead with your companion friend outside.

Organize Dog Play Sessions - Find people in your neighborhood who own friendly dogs and make weekly dog play sessions with them. This can take place either at a neighbor’s yard or a local dog park.

Organize Dog Walking Sessions With Neighbors - If you have neighbors who also have dogs, they are likely to be in the same boat as you are. Set up a routine where you alternate exercising each others’ dogs before or after work. Be sure that you trust the people well enough before you let them take care of your dog.

Cut Down On TV & Computer Time- It’s understandable that after a hard day’s work, it can be soothing to just sit down and watch your favorite show or surf the web. However, cutting down just 10 minutes of this time can give you a great opportunity to play fetch with your dog outside or go for a quick jog.

Get Your Kids To Exercise Your Dog - If you have kids that are old enough and you trust to take care of the dog, why not let them play together at the park? It’ll allow both to get some fresh air.

It’s official – Winter is here! Even though we know our loved ones like to run loose outside, there are many potential dangers of not being protected from the cold. Here are some tips to help protect our companion animals on those unbearable cold winter days.

Cold Weather Tips:

1. Keep your pooch or cat indoors. Those who are allowed to stray are exposed to infectious diseases, including rabies, from other cats, dogs and wildlife.
2. Bang on car hoods. Outdoor cats tend to sleep underneath car hoods. This is hazardous because fan belts can do serious damage. Before starting your car in the winter, bang on the hood to give a chance for outdoor cats to escape.
3. Never let your pooch off the leash when there is snow or ice. Dogs can easily lose their scent and become lost. There are more lost pooches in the winter than any other season, so make sure that your dog has an ID tag.
4. Get them jackets and sweaters. If they are going outside, it is best to choose something that has a waterproof nylon covering.
5. If your dog has a long coat, never shave it down. More hair will provide more warmth in the winter. Be sure to completely dry your dog after a bath when taking them out on long walks.
6. Never leave your dog or cat unattended and alone in a car during cold weather. A car can act as a refrigerator in the winter, holding in the cold and causing the animal to freeze to death.
7. Make sure your pooch wears booties. Booties protect your dog’s sole from cold weather and harmful substances use to melt ice.
8. Provide more food. Dogs use calories to stay warm, so make sure to feed them properly especially if they spend a lot of time outdoors.
9. Warm bedding. Make sure your companion animal has a warm bed that is at least 3 inches from the ground to avoid cold drafts.
10. Warm their hearts! Give your pooch or cat some Freshpet treats that will guarantee to warm their hearts and their spirits.

Tips provided by ASPCA, PetPlace.com, and MentorPatch

Looking for the perfect gift idea for your special pooch or cat this holiday season? Well, look no further! We’ve put together a list of 7 great gifts that includes pet accessories, treats, and toys. Our pets have given us unconditional love and affection all year round so don’t forget to get them a cute gift or two. The holidays are quickly approaching! Check out our list below:

1. Freshpet Foods – What greater gift than the gift of fresh? Keep your dogs happy and healthy by stocking your fridge with Freshpet this season.

2. Pet Santa Costume ($16.95) – This adorable Santa Claus outfit comes complete with the jumpsuit, belt, and matching hat.

3. Holiday Tartan Dog Boots ($26.95) – These boots not only keep your pup’s feet warm, but they’re also stylish!

4. Holiday Penguin Squeaker Mat ($17.99) – Playing with this long penguin squeaker toy will keep your pooch entertained for hours.

5. Comfortable Desktop Cat Seat ($29.95) – Ever want to keep your cat our of the way, but yet an arm’s length away while you’re working? Here’s the perfect solution.

6. Dog Silhouettes Canvas Tote ($22.99) – Perfect for carrying all of your dogs belongings to the beach, while traveling, or just on a stroll to the park.

7. Cat Scratch Tower ($26.99) – This tower has dual toy teasers that will orbit over your cat’s head for hours while he scratches this post.

Thanksgiving is a time for getting together with family, being grateful for all of life’s blessings, and eating wonderful foods. It’s also a time for our dogs to sneak off with the holiday scraps. While it’s ok to toss your dog a piece of turkey here and there, there are potential hazards of giving your dog popular Thanksgiving foods.

Check out this list below that we found on I Love Dogs of 10 foods you should avoid feeding your dog on Thanksgiving, and any other day for that matter.

1. Natural Bones: It seems counter-intuitive, we know, but natural bones are bad for dogs. Carmela Stamper, D.V.M., a veterinarian in the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the FDA, said, “Bones are unsafe, no matter what their size. Giving your dog a bone may make your pet a candidate for a trip to your veterinarian’s office later, possible emergency surgery or even death. Make sure you throw out bones from your own meals in a way that your dog can’t get to them.”

2. Raw or undercooked turkey: One reason: salmonella bacteria. You can get sick from handling raw food, and even though you may believe your dog’s stomach is iron-clad – it’s not.

3. Turkey skin: Seems harmless enough, right? It’s just the skin. But, as blogs.dogtime.com puts it, “High-fat foods, such as turkey skin and gravy, can be hazardous to your dog. Since the skin is hard to digest, it can lead to pancreatitis (symptoms are vomiting, extreme depression, reluctance to move and abdominal pain).”

The skin isn’t good for you either, so it’s best to throw it away and make more room for the mashed potatoes and gravy.

4. Dough and cake batter: It may sound like an urban legend, but the combination of raw dough and your dog’s body heat can actually cause the dough to rise inside his stomach. This can result in vomiting, severe abdominal pain and bloating. Not to mention that the batter used in cakes and pies has raw eggs, which could contain salmonella bacteria. If you’re making a cake or pie, make sure your dog is not in the kitchen and, clean up any scraps or droppings that hit the floor right away.

5. Beer: Dogs love beer – but this doesn’t mean you should share a cold one with your dog. Beer can really do a number on your dog’s stomach.

Alcohol, especially the hops in beer, can be particularly harmful to dogs, causing intoxication, panting, fever, racing heart, liver damage, even coma, seizures and death.

6. Walnuts and macadamia nuts: These two nuts in particular are very bad for your dog. In fact, they could cause a toxic reaction called macadamia nut toxicosis. blogs.dogtime.com says, “Within twelve hours of eating the nuts, dogs can start to develop symptoms such as an inability to stand, ataxia (walking wobbly), depression, vomiting, muscle tremors, hyperthermia (elevated body temperature), weakness and an elevated heart rate. Usually the symptoms go away within 48 hours but the weakness, vomiting and fear can lead to dangerous, and sometimes deadly, shock.”

7. Mushrooms: Fungi are good for you, but bad for your dog. Should your dog ingest mushrooms, you can expect a slew of unwelcome symptoms that could become quite severe. Mushrooms can damage a number of internal organs, including kidneys, liver and the central nervous system. If your dog eats mushrooms, you can expect seizures, coma, vomiting and possibly death.

8. Onions: This is always on the list of foods your dog should not eat and for very good reason. They make your dog sick, period. Here’s why: Onions contain sulfides, which are toxic to dogs and can cause the destruction of red blood cells leading to Heinz body anemia.

9. Sage: This multi-purpose herb is used in countless recipes and for cleansing a new home, but to a dog, sage is bad. It contains essential oils and resins that can upset a dog’s stomach and do a number on his central nervous system.

10. Nutmeg: Nutmeg is a sneaky spice. Found in pumpkin pie and most desserts, nutmeg has mild hallucinogenic properties that when ingested by your dog can cause, “seizures, tremors and central nervous system problems. In severe cases, shock and death have been reported,” according to blogs.dogtime.com. Note that both pumpkin and sweet potatoes are good for your dog; just make sure no nutmeg is on them before you share them with your dog.

Source: I Love Dogs

We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. In return, dogs give us their all. It’s the best deal man has ever made.

— Margery Facklam

Our dogs provide us with so many good things on a daily basis. They humor us when we’re feeling down, put a smile on our face, and most importantly, give us unconditional love. We’ve all heard the phrase “Dog is man’s best friend” being thrown around, but have you ever wondered about its origin? I came across this great article on NPR that gives us a view of how this close relationship between dog and man came about.

Naturalist Mark Derr explains that dogs descended from its early ancestor, the wolf, and their close bond with men through hunting. Early humans began following wolves as they  hunted for similar game. As these two started working and living together over time, the skeletal features of the wolves changed to resemble today’s modern day dog.

Even though we don’t speak the same language, there is no doubt that there is a deep love and empathy for each other which has lasted through the test of time. Make sure to share some stories with your best friend in the comments below.