Hot Tips For Cool Pets! … Part 4: Sun, Fun & FOOD

During the summer, many of us have barbeques, picnics, and pool parties with family and friends. When people get together, there’s always food and drink involved. We love to eat, and so do our pets. It’s great for our fur kids to enjoy our parties too; here are a few tips to help your party animal have a good time, while keeping him safe too…

Watch the grill: How many times have you been at a BBQ and thought, “That smells so good?” Then, mouth watering, walked over to check out the food. It’s a natural reaction for all of us, including our pets. Dogs and cats don’t get the concept of ‘too hot to touch,’ so they may try to raid the grill, and get seriously burned in the process. Or a dog, even if he’s just playing and running around, can knock over some barbeques, and get burned or start a fire. It’s best to always keep pets away from the grill!

Please don’t feed my dog: Like some people, pets can have allergies to certain foods. Some of the things we like to eat can make pets very ill, or even kill them. Some foods are too sweet, rich or spicy for our fur babies, but they’ll eat it then, and throw up later. People often fall for those sad eyes, watching as they take every bite, and they’ll feed the dog something they shouldn’t. Keep an eye on your pets, and the people too. Tell everyone what your pet can and cannot eat, or request that they not to feed the pet at all. It might be a little embarrassing, but it could save your pet a lot of misery, and you a large vet bill.

Foods pets should never eat: No COOKED Bones! I’m a big proponent of giving dogs, and cats, raw meaty bones as part of their regular diet. They are carnivores and a diet consisting of: raw muscle meat with some fat, some organ meat, bone, and a small amount of ground veggies, is the optimal diet for dogs and cats. So raw bones are a part of Jesse’s and my cats’ diets, and they love them. Most raw bones are great for your dog, but not when they’re cooked. Heat changes the molecular structure of a bone, making it brittle. Then sharp pieces can be consumed and cause internal injuries. So if you’re going to cook ribs, chicken, or anything on the bone, and you want to share with your best friend, by all means do, just don’t cook his. A nice raw, meaty rib bone, turkey neck, or chicken back could make your dog very happy, and keep him busy while everyone else eating too.

Never let your pets eat: chocolate, grapes, raisins, onions, raw bread dough, or macadamia nuts; these foods are toxic to, and can kill, dogs and cats.

Just water, please: I hate to admit this, but back in my youthful party days, I had a Chihuahua mix, named Bilbo Baggins, who loved beer. Of course, he only knew he loved beer because I gave him ‘just a little’ a couple times. Bilbo quickly learned to wait and watch for anyone to put a beer down. Then he would immediately knock it over, greedily lap it up, and then stagger around. At the time it seemed funny. Now that I’m older, and have more knowledge about dogs and life, when I think about it, I feel regret. We were lucky, nothing bad seemed to happen to him, but now I realize how much damage I might have caused my sweet Bilbo… his little body was not equipped to metabolize alcohol. It doesn’t take much for a dog to suffer or die from alcohol poisoning! So only give them good old water J

It’s their party too: Have some healthy snacks for your pets. As I mentioned, raw bones are great treats for dogs and cats; and, unlike kibble, raw bones help to keep their teeth healthy and clean. On hot days, I sometimes give Jesse a frozen raw bone, licking it cools his off and gives him something to do. While my dog and most cats won’t touch them, many dogs love fruits and vegetables; plus, cooked or raw, meat makes great treats for them, just leave off the spices. Keep in mind how much food your dog is eating, don’t let him overeat. Maybe cut back, or skip, his evening meal, if he’s had a bunch of food during the party.

We all scream for ice cream: One of our favorite treats, especially on hot days, is ice cream. Dogs like it too, but it’s really too sweet and creamy for them. However, there are commercially available frozen doggie treats. Many of them aren’t that great; they’re packed with artificial flavorings and chemicals. However, like yöghund, there are some healthy frozen treats available too. Always read the ingredients panel when choosing any food for your pet! Of course, you can always make your own frozen treats…

Pupsicles: The Honest Kitchen makes a product called Ice Pups, which you mix with water and freeze (it can be used, chilled or warm, as a drink too). Or, you can mix equal portions of low sodium broth and water, maybe add some small cubes of meat, cheese and/or veggies, pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze. Your dog will have a great time licking the meat flavored ice cubes and eating the bits of food. For larger pupsicles, pour your pupsicle mix into paper cups and freeze. Just for fun, you might even pop a bully stick into them once they’ve started to get solid. When they’re frozen, run the cups under cool water to remove the pupsicle.

Frozen Kongs: Kongs are great toys and treats in one. If you make them interesting by stuffing them with a variety of good food, they can keep a dog busy for a long time. There are several recipes on their website to give you ideas. Freezing a well-stuffed Kong makes a cooling, and time-consuming treat during a party, or anytime.

For more info on nutrition for our carnivore kids, check out these books:

Scared Poopless: The Straight Scoop on Dog Care, by Chiclet T. Dog & Jan Rasmusen

Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats: The Ultimate Diet, by Kymythy R. Schultze, C.C.N., A.H.I.

Food Pets Die For, by Ann Martin