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My dog has horrible knock you down stinky dog breath.  He eats dry food but it doesn't help.  What do I do?  We can't stand to be around him.

First, you need to forget the idea that eating dry food will keep your dog's teeth clean.  It's true that chewing, tearing and gnawing will keep a dog's teeth clean, but they don't gnaw on their kibble.  Gnawing on raw meaty bones is the most natural and easiest way to keep your dog's teeth clean.  It may take a couple of times to get your dog used to it (and it's best to cut back on the food you're feeding on bone days) but the results are well worth it.  Even tiny tiny dogs can benefit from raw bones and probably need it MORE than bigger dogs.  Ever smelled a pomeranian's breath?  It will curl your hair.  We keep a variety of cut beef bones in our freezer and they range in price from $2.98 to $5.98. 

If you're squeamish or just don't want to deal with the hassle of raw meat, Zuke's makes a great Z-Ridge dental treat.  These treats are very similar to Greenie's, without the issues of digestibility making them much safer.  They come in sizes from mini to large and range in price from $1/bone for minis to $6/bone for large. 

And finally, there is always Petzlife dental gel and spray.  Incredibly effective and easy to use, it will dissolve the tartar from along the gum line (21.95 spray, 24.95 gel) and freshen your dog or cat's breath.

Meet Yanna.

Yanna is a young stray picked up as a stray by the Sebastian County Humane Society, and the new mama of 6 fat and sassy puppies.  Yanna is being fostered here at Happy Tails, where we will care for her and her litter.  Our goal is to start the training of the puppies, fine tune whatever Yanna knows, and get them all started on a much happier, healthier life with forever homes.  

 

 

I have a little 5lb maltese and most treats are too big for her mouth.  What do you suggest?

Even though most small dogs can handle chewing on a bigger treat just fine, one BIG treat for a small dog can upset their appetite.  Treats for small dogs are not only just the right size for the little ones, they also make great training treats for larger dogs.

In addition to Zuke's Mini Naturals and Bil-Jac Little Jacs, we also carry a line of  new dog biscuits called Mini Bakes that are perfect for little ones.  Mini Bakes come in 3 unique formulas:  Peanut Butter 'n Blueberryz, Chicken 'n Cherryz, and Turkey 'n Taterz.  (Chicken 'N Cherryz ingredients:  Ground oats, rice bran, chicken, cherries, potatoes, oat fiber, blackstrap molasses, oil blend (sunflower, olive and canola), natural vegetable flavors.) For $5.69, each box contains 325 biscuits that can easily be broken in  half for a grand total of 650!  That's only about $.02 a treat! 

There are also organic Superfood biscuits that are loaded with peanuts and almonds.  (Health Nutz ingredients: Organic Ground Oats*, Organic Ground Barley*, Peanut Butter, Potatoes, Oat Fiber, Organic Blackstrap Molasses*, Oil Blend (sunflower, olive and canola), Almond Butter, Natural Vegetable Flavors.)

Made in the USA, Zuke's biscuits are wheat and corn free and made without artificial colors, flavors, added fat or by-products.  They are packaged in 100% recycled paper board.  Every box of biscuits is made with 100% wind energy and their offices are powered by 100% green electricity.  Plus, a portion of every sale on ALL Zuke's items is donated to The Dog and Cat Cancer Fund. 

To find out more about the newest items from Zuke's, click here!

Seen the Wal-mart commercials about how good pet food now costs even less?  Not so.  Grocery store brands, no matter how inexpensive the bag, end up being more expensive to feed.

Still Not Convinced?

We know it's hard to believe that "cheap" doesn't always equal "less-expensive" so we did another side-by-side comparison.  This time we stopped by Walmart and picked up a variety of dog foods.  Our findings?  Just because it's at Walmart, it doesn't make it inexpensive, no matter what the commercials tell you.  Purina ONE Lamb 34lb bag for $30.99 at Walmart.  (Ingredients:  lamb, brewer's rice, corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, poultry by-product meal, oat meal, animal fat, lamb meal)  According to the bag, a moderately active 50 pound dog should eat 4 cups of food a day, at a daily cost of $.81 and a yearly feeding cost of $271.79.  Premium Edge Lamb 35lb bag for $34.69 at Happy Tails (Ingredients:  Lamb, lamb meal, whole grain brown rice, cracked pearled barley, oatmeal, millet, egg product, white rice, chicken fat, potatoes, tomato pomace, flaxseed).  According to the bag, a moderately active 50lb dog should eat 2.5 cups of food a day, at a daily cost of $.60 and $201.59 a year!  And at Happy Tails, when you buy 10 bags of Premium Edge, you get the 11th free! That brings the cost down even lower.  So really, that $3.70 you are saving per bag by buying ONE actually means you will be spending more than $8 more a month.  That doesn't even count the inevitable vet bills, which means even more $$ down the line.  Cheap food?  Sure thing.  Inexpensive?  Not even close.

How does Ole Roy stack up?

You might be surprised to find out that there are less expensive (and far superior) alternatives even to Ole Roy!   A 44lb bag of Ole Roy costs $15.50 at Walmart (ground yellow corn, meat and bone meal, soybean meal, chicken by-product meal, wheat middlings, animal fat, natural flavor, brewers rice).  That is $.39/lb.  An average 50lb dog should eat 3.25 cups per day, at a cost of $.30.  That's $8.35 a month, and $100.21 per year.  Diamond Naturals Beef and Rice costs $20.98 for a 40lb bag at Happy Tails (beef meal, cracked pearled barley, ground rice, peas, egg product, chicken fat, rice bran, beet pulp, flaxseed)  At .52lb, an average 50lb dog should eat 2.5 cups a day for a daily cost of $.29, a monthly cost of $8.31 and a yearly cost of $99.73.  The difference in the quality of ingredients (beef meal vs meat and bone meal) makes Diamond's savings much, much greater.  

Remember, you are buying nutrition.  No matter how cheap or expensive the food, if it isn't nutritious and made from the things dogs and cats need, you are wasting your money, and will be throwing good $$ after bad when your pet ends up ill at 5 or 7 years old.  

Other Useful Comparisons

To find out more about the foods we carry, click on the links to their websites in the column on the left hand side of this page. 

Just like our website, our newsletter is getting a facelift.  If you are interested in being notified of upcoming sales, coupons and information on what is going on in the pet industry here in Fort Smith and the rest of the country, just sign up below.

Sign up for our Email Newsletter For Email Newsletters you can trust

Here is a sneak peak at our new newsletter layout.

So many exciting things to come at Happy Tails.  Remodeling our store, our website and now our newsletter.  Stop by and tell us what you think

My dog is overweight, but she is always hungry.  None of the weight loss foods seem to help.  Do you have any ideas?

Dogs and cats do not need carbohydrates.  Almost all the pet food brands you recognize and all the brands that are heavily advertised will pack on the weight without providing the proper nutrition (my experienced and educated opinion).  Dogs and cats need top quality meat based protein!  Beneful Healthy Weight ingredients:  corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, soybean hulls, whole wheat flour, rice flour, chicken, soy flour, animal fat (7%), sugar and synthetic vitamins and minerals.  Horse sense should tell you that your dog will not lose weight on this food.  It might be good food for a horse, though.  *Nature's Logic:  Chicken Meal, millet (very low carb starch binder), chicken fat (18%), plus all natural vitamins and minerals from whole foods, pro-biotics and no synthetic vitamins.  551 kcap per cup, 55% meat sourced.  Recommended feeding for a 50lb moderately active dog is 1.5 cups per day, which is 12oz of good nutrition and 825 kcal.  Beneful recommended feeding is 3.5 cups per day = 1260 kcal of poor nutrition, dyes, sugar and soybean hulls.  

Check out Nature's Logic for yourself at www.natureslogic.com

You may have noticed that the Happy Tails website is undergoing a make-over.  We are adding lots of information and a whole new "nutrition" section.  Keep your eyes on the site as we will be updating often with lots of great changes.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

While it may be true that you can find very inexpensive dog food, you might be surprised to find out just how expensive it is to feed.  With inferior foods- especially those from the grocery store - the amount you need to feed far outstrips any "deal" you may have gotten for the bag.  We matched up 4 different pet foods - Beneful Healthy Harvest, available at any grocery store and big box pet store vs. Science Diet, heavily pushed by vets and available in big box pet stores vs. Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul, an excellent value food vs. Innova, one of the best. 

To make a long story short, the most expensive food to feed is (perhaps no surprise!) Science Diet, with Beneful holding the second spot.  Innova comes in third with Chicken Soup being the cheapest food to feed overall.  

You can click here to download a PDF file with the side-by-side comparison of the foods, as well as the pertinent ingredients lists. Don't be fooled by the price sticker on the bag - there is more to nutrition than the price you pay at the register.

If you want to sign up for a basic obedience class, it's not too late!  Our April 9th class has been postponed until April 23rd.  So come by to sign up - it's a great learning experience for your dog *and* your family!

 Also, those of you waiting for an intermediate class for furthering your dog's education - we are going to be starting an intermediate class at the beginning of May.  However, I need feedback on the best day to hold class, as I know quite a few people are busy on Wednesday nights.  If you are interested in signing up for an intermediate class, please email me at kris@luvhappytails.com and let me know what days/times would be best for you, tuesday - saturday.  Thanks!

We have some great pictures posted in the grooming section of our gallery.

Sebastian and Maggie Mann are hams for the camera. :D

Jake, Sophie and Polly are very patient when it's grooming time.

 And finally, to any of you who may know a third grader who loves pets...go to Pets Add Life and check out the poetry contest they are holding.  It's a great opportunity for kids to explore what it is they love about their pets.

 I hope everyone has a wonderful, relaxing Easter...and make sure you keep all the chocolate out of your dog's reach!