Natalie Myers, Freshpet R&D Associate

This week’s blog post is written by Natalie Myers, Freshpet R&D Associate:

If you would have known me back when I was a child, working for a pet food company would be the last job you would have guessed I would have someday. I was PETRIFIED of dogs; it didn’t matter the size or type. Growing slightly older, my fears have since subsided and now I really enjoy spending time with our furry friends.

Previous to my days here at Freshpet, I received my undergraduate degree in Food Science. In high school, I was more of a science nerd than anything else and I LOVE to eat, so I figured Food Science was the perfect route for me. Why wouldn’t I want to spend all day researching and developing new food products to eat? (while of course, making sure the quality is perfectly up to standard).

Little did I know when I started into the food world, that I would one day end up here, at a pet food company. After all, our pets have to eat too, right? And now, my job is to make sure their food is nutritious and delicious while being made with high quality ingredients so everyone remains happy and healthy. Our technical team here in Quakertown, PA, where we make our fresh foods, does extensive research and testing before, during and after production on everything from the raw ingredients, to the equipment and of the course the finished product. Even though the product looks and smells good to us, we have to make sure pets enjoy our foods as well.

It’s an exciting job creating fresh ideas for food and treats to keep your pets coming back to the fridge, so stay tuned for our new products!

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

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.

Follow these simple steps below to enter:

1. Click on the Keep Your Holidays Fresh tab on our Facebook fan page
2. Fill out the sweepstakes entry form
3. Invite your friends to increase your chances of winning

You better hurry, the contest ends on December 21, 2011 at 12:00 AM (EST).  See Official Rules for details.

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.

And now the envelope please…

The grand prize goes to Allison and her pooch Henry.

Henry (an animal activist which can be viewed to the left) captured our hearts with this cute, satirical take on current Occupy events.

Don’t worry Henry we’ll keep the protest going to make sure that all poochies have fresh food. You are part of the 99% who want fresh food, but you’ve definitely captured 100% of our hearts!

Another special thanks to our fan favorite Jennie and her dog Stanley.

Stanley (seen to the right) gets very nervous when he sees that there is only half of a Freshpet log left.

No need to worry Stanley, we will make sure that your supply of Freshpet is never low. Well deserved!

Thanks for the on-going support of Freshpet and happy protesting!

To keep your pet in shape, you can use the same basic equation that applies to humans:

Controlled Calorie Intake + Daily Exercise = Healthy and Fit!

All dogs and cats require a certain amount of calories every day.  There are many factors that play into how many calories they need, such as age, pregnancy, and even climate (outdoor dogs require more food when the weather is very cold).  Your vet can provide you with a daily caloric target.  Don’t forget to include treats when you’re counting calories – they can quickly add up!

 Pets can benefit from regular exercise just like we do.  It helps increase their muscle and joint strength and improves their overall heart health.  Plus it keeps them busy and happy, reducing the occurrence of unwanted behavior brought on by boredom or depression.  Some easy activities to get you started include playing fetch outside with your dog or dangling toys to get your cat jumping.

There’s still time to get our furry friends in good form before the holiday season, when food temptations reach an all-time high for all of us!  Simply pay more attention to how much you are feeding your pets and find fun ways to get them more active.

*Always consult with your vet before changing your pet’s diet or exercise routine.

This week’s blog is written by Genevieve, our Freshpet Consumer Affairs expert:

When it comes to Freshpet products, you can ask me anything!  If I don’t know the answer, I know where to find it.  As a Consumer Products professional, with 20+ years experience interacting with savvy shoppers, I’ve dealt with products from vitamins to sewing machines, food products to hair care, and petroleum to pet food.  I jokingly refer to myself as a wealth of useless information because I can still remember previous companies and products.  But it does help when I want to remove a mustard stain.

Over my last four years, I’ve spoken with thousands of pet owners not just about Freshpet, but about their dogs and cats as well.  This gives me the opportunity to talk about my dog Abby, a rescued lab mix who has been part of my family for five years.  She constantly reminds me that I have the best job in the company!

As a dog owner, I appreciate the quality of the fresh foods we make, and that makes it possible to answer your concerns with truth and knowledge, allowing you to continue to make informed decisions about the nutrition for your best friend.