Integrity Pet Canada Inc. recently developed a new line of treats to provide your pets with all the benefits of Omega 3′s. Omega 3′s are important for both human and animal health, and in dogs and cats it has positive effects on inflammatory disorders, immune system, brain health and aging.

Hearty Bites are made from natural ingredients including sweet potatoes and chicory root, which are full of nutrients and will help healthy bacteria grow in your dog’s digestive system.

They are available in two sizes of treats to ensure their status as a low-calorie snack. They are crunchy and grain-free (which means no fillers).

Hearty Bites are also available for cats, and some feline friends of mine give them a big meow (that means yum). My own pups tested out the treats for dogs and seemed very impressed. Matilda got booted out of the photo shoot because she couldn’t sit and wait for the treat while I got my camera ready!

Hearty Bites make a perfect February themed treat as they are shaped like hearts.

Pick up some for your pets at one of these locations:

- Global Pet Foods / Pitou Minou (in QC)
- PJ’s Pets
- Pet Culture
- Pets Unlimited
- Mondou

Sonnet waiting eagerly to have a Hearty Bite!

Small Fry Maïa photobysuebird.com

Now that winter is really here, some of our tiny and/or short fur friends have been inquiring about indoor social time at Masters ‘N Dogs Westboro. Sign up for our dog social club info and meetings by writing to Stella at: barkinwestboro@gmail.com
Some of you are already registered. If you’ve been to a social last winter when we were Bark & Fitz, we still have your info on file.

Please tell us your dog’s name and breed (or breed description if a mixed breed), month and year of birth, what food your dog is presently eating and what type of treats that it prefers. This will help us set up the socials properly. We try to group them by size and breed when the clubs start getting up there in number of participants. We aim to have a Small Breed Puppy group and a Large Breed Puppy grouping. Indoor socials will be on either Tuesdays or Wednesdays from 6:30 to 7:30. We ask that all members are gone by 7:45 so the staff can close up shop after a long day at work.

Indoor dog socials are meant to expose dogs of similar size & breed to other dogs and their masters. We offer treat samples, food samples, feature toy of the month, a basket with gently used toys “to share” and discussion time with our knowledgeable staff. We sometimes have special guests such as Bark Busters, a local artist or photographer and will have special promotions with store products for club members only. We ask for a donation to BARK rescue as an entry fee for these indoor socials. Once a month we will draw a door prize for social club members who’ve attended our indoor events.

Tue January 17th: Boxers
Wed January 18th: Small Fries (under 19lbs)
Tue January 24: Bullies & Pugs (bulldogs, frenchies, pugs)
Wed January 25: Small Breed Puppies
Tue January 31st: Large Breed Puppies
Wed February 1st: Doxies (dachshunds)

Masters ‘N DOGS Westboro, 354 Richmond Rd, Ottawa in Westboro Village, 613-792-3711

mastersndogs.ca

This week has been a whirlwind. I am trying to remember everything that happened and it’s not easy! haha.

Wellie has been doing well this week, learning her commands a lot better and she is really getting the hang of “take it” and “leave it” but she still dives for things that are dropped on the floor and man is she fast!

We are still working hard on housetraining, and it’s coming along slowly. Our vet suggested giving her the treats straight away after she does her business outside and that is working for sure, but she is still having accidents inside. Over the past week she hasn’t pooped inside and eaten it as much as the previous week, but she still has done it. The pee accidents have gotten less, but again, she’s still having a few.

One issue that we are having is the door and it’s not just with Wellie, it’s with all three. They all go crazy nutso when someone comes to the door. Today a friend dropped by for a bit and it was not good. It got heated and Wellie ended up snapping at both Paddy and Cordy. I’m not sure if she was trying to keep them in line or something, but it was too much excitement for me and I want to work on them being calm when someone comes to the door. It caused me a lot of stress this evening – even my friend noticed!

Saturday brought some pretty big changes for Wellie and she has adapted so well – I am so proud of her! Friday night my parents and sister, Jane, arrived from out of town to pick up her new puppy, Sonnet. Saturday, My Mom, myself and Jane drove to the breeder to pick up little itty bitty 8 week old Sonnet, a Maltese/ShihTzu mix. She is actually from the same breeder that we got Corduroy from and they actually share the same father so they are half sisters!

When we brought Sonnet in to meet the other three, we closed her in her crate and let Paddington, Corduroy and Wellington sniff her through the crate. This way she stayed and felt safe and sound while the others could smell her and see there was another little creature in there. We then let them meet her outside of the crate and it went really well. All three were interested but ultimately didn’t care she was there and that is exactly what I was hoping would happen. Jane is staying with us for a week so we wanted everyone to meet and get along well right from the start.
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Here are some great videos shared by Dianne and Richard from Bark Busters East Ottawa.
They note: “You can teach your dog anything when using the right techniques.”

Roll the Barrel

Top of the Barrel

Their two dogs Stryker and Fence on a dreary rainy day, still getting their exercise.

Snoofy, a client’s dog learning to walk and loving it.

Snoofy was just a guest who learned to love tunnel runs

Put them to the test with these!!
They look so colourful and would be great for dogs who love to chew.

The song in the video is pretty catchy too.

This article is from dogfoodscoop.com. Thank you Debbie for sending it in.

July 2, 2010
FDA Issues “Warning Letter” to Merrick Pet Food Company (Tejas Industries Inc.)

In January, 2010, Merrick voluntarily recalled the dog treats, Merrick Beef Filet Squares, after the FDA found salmonella contamination during random sample testing.

Now, it appears there’s a lot more to this story, and the FDA has just sent a warning letter to Garth Merrick. It’s certainly not looking good for this family owned, premium dog food company!

Did Merrick Dog Food deliberately choose not to give us the whole story on the Beef Filet Squares dog food recall(s)?

To read more, please see the original article.