As we’re sure you’re aware, the holiday season is right at our doorstep. As the air cools down just a little bit, shopping centers are beginning to put up their red and green decorations, and families are sending out invitations to their parties and preparing for the arrival of relatives. If you’re wondering about the best gift to give your family this holiday season, we’d love to suggest getting a dog.

Here at Pawsitively Pure, we advocate responsible pet ownership, and a pet you bring home for Christmas is a pet for life. But if you have the right intentions, a dog can be a perfect Christmas gift and benefit your family for years to come. Here are three reasons why your family will be all the better with the love and companionship of a pup:

1. Dogs can help your children learn responsibility. Maybe your parents got you a pet when you were growing up to help you understand responsibility, too. While dogs are a lot of fun, they also require a lot of care and attention to help them thrive. You can put your children in charge of daily dog duties, like taking them for a walk and making sure they get the right amount of human grade dog food for dinner.

2. Dogs can help everyone learn a little patience. Sometimes the training phase can be frustrating when bringing a new dog into the house. By working with your new furry friend through these issues, you’ll learn to be more patient and to work through issues instead of giving up. This isn’t just beneficial for the little ones - we can all do with a little more patience as we help our dogs grow happy and healthy.

3. Dogs are the best stress relievers. Coming home after a long day at the office? Are your children stressed about upcoming exams? Just take a little break to play with your pup! Studies have shown that even something as simple as petting a dog can take a load of stress off your plate. High stress can lead to physical illness, so having a dog around the house can keep everyone happy and healthy.

The team at Pawsitively Pure advocates adoption when you’re looking for a new family friend. Now that Florida has passed Amendment 13, outlawing greyhound racing, there are soon to be a number of dogs looking for their forever homes. Check with your local shelter or rescue program to find out more. To order your Pawsitively Pure food, bone broth, and treats, click here, or find us on Facebook!

Did you know that October is National Pet Wellness Month? After the excitement of the summer, the fall is the perfect time to slow down and give your pet an overall health and wellness checkup. Here at Pawsitively Pure, we like to treat Pet Wellness month as a new beginning for our pets’ health goals and find new ways to improve quality of life for Jackson and Finley as they grow older together.

This year, we want to take it back to the basics and make sure our pups are living their best lives when it comes to their everyday needs. Here are the 3 ways we’re celebrating National Pet Wellness Month:

• Make sure your pups are following healthy, balanced diets.  The number one thing you can do to keep your pup happy is to ensure the food they eat is fresh and free from unnecessary fillers and sugars. The best way to do this is with whole, human-grade foods. Your dog wasn’t designed to live on kibble; make the switch to natural food and you’ll see increased energy levels and much more alertness in your pup.

• Give your dog an enriching environment. No matter how often you try to give your dog outdoor playtime, they’re still spending most of their lives inside the house. Make sure your dog isn’t bored and provide him with a variety of toys and puzzles. Also, as often as possible, take your dog on different routes for your daily walk. Any training sessions are also great opportunities for both enrichment and bonding.

• Give your dog an at-home wellness checkup. Your dog can’t tell you when he’s experiencing a health issue; instead, you have to rely on your own observations to discern that your pup is under the weather. Usually, by the time symptoms get serious, the issue has been present for a while. This is why it’s so important to regularly give your pet a simple at-home examination from tip to tail. Here’s a great guide from Healthy Pets by Mercola.

Give your pup a little extra love for National Pet Wellness month! If you’re not sure where to start, your pet’s diet is the biggest factor in their overall health and wellness. Review your food and treat choices and determine what areas might need a little extra healthy nutrition. When you’re ready to switch your dog to natural, human-grade food, click here to shop Pawsitively Pure’s products.

If you’re a dog owner, you’ve probably experienced your fair share of halitosis coming from your furry friend. Yes, we love our pups, bad breath and all; but whether you realized it or not, bad breath doesn’t have to be the default for dogs. While your pup may never have minty-fresh breath, severe halitosis and odor from the gums and teeth may be a sign of a health issue that can develop into something bigger if left unchecked.

One of the many reasons why we feed our dogs with human-grade dog food is because it’s been proven to support better oral health. Here’s how:

• No added sugars. Just like processed human foods, processed kibble tends to include a lot of sugar-based fillers to make it more appealing and preserve it for longer. All that extra sugar leads to buildup and tooth decay - yes, just like it does to humans! Reducing the amount of sugars in your dog’s diet can be a huge helper in staving off plaque and freshening their breath.

• It includes tooth-protecting enzymes and nutrients. The nutrients found in fatty acids, COq10, and folic acid, have been shown to strengthen gum tissue and help stave off periodontitis. Our bone broth and dog food are chock full of healthy ingredients including these nutrients, leaving your pup with a more comfortable mouth.

• It makes it easier to add in supplements. If you have a picky dog, you’ve probably gone through the struggle of trying to add supplements to their kibble, only to have them pick around it. Flavorful bone broth is a great way to disguise additional supplements in your pup’s food and can blend completely so they can’t pick around it. They may even learn to love their supplements in time!

While oral health isn’t always at the forefront of a dog owner’s mind, it’s an important part of your dog’s overall wellness. Keeping the teeth and gums strong can help dogs lead active lifestyles and keep their body safe from other infections. To learn more or to browse through our human-grade dog products, click here. Want to know where else you can find Pawsitively Pure? Check out our blog here!

As you probably know by now, your dog’s diet has a lot to do with their activity levels and overall well being. Food is your dog’s first source of energy and nutrition. It’s also their first source of irritants and pollutants. Often, your dog will let you know that they’ve eaten something they don’t like by vomiting or displaying other gastrointestinal distress. Sometimes, however, symptoms may show up differently than you’d expect.

Beef, dairy, and wheat are among the three most common food allergies dogs experience. Here’s how you can tell your dog’s system doesn’t agree with some of the ingredients in their food:

• Constantly itchy skin. Itchiness is one of the most commonly cited symptoms of food allergies, usually accompanied by pink skin underneath. If your pup seems to itch without relief or is losing patches of hair due to too much scratching, there’s a good chance the cause is a food allergy - especially if over-the-counter shampoos and solutions don’t seem to work.

• Reddish-brown stains around the mouth and paws. Generally, these red patches can be attributed to yeast colonies, which are better able to grow at infection sites. These patches are often itchy and you may notice your dog licking its paws more than usual.

• Frequent ear infections. While dogs that are frequent swimmers are prone to swimmer’s ear, food allergens can also cause recurring infections in your furry friends. Check the ears for dark brown or black, stinky buildup. This, too, is usually caused by a yeast infection triggered by the appearance of an allergy.

What’s the next step if you think your dog has a food allergy? The most reliable test is through an elimination diet, which can take about 4-6 months to complete. In a program like this, you’ll take your dog’s diet back down to the very basics and slowly reintroduce each ingredient to determine how it affects their overall wellness. As always, consult your veterinarian before going on a program such as this.

Human-Grade Dog Food for Healthy Coat

Many pet parents find that their fur babies have healthier skin and coat after switching to a human-grade diet. Keeping your dogs on a simple, natural diet makes it easy to tell what ingredients work in harmony with their systems. Get human-grade dog food delivered to your door from Pawsitively Pure. Click here to browse our products.

There’s nothing better than a big bowl of fresh, sweet berries to enjoy as a summertime snack! For years, blueberries have been touted as a superfood and enjoyed for their juicy sweetness and their health benefits. But did you know that blueberries pack a lot of awesome nutritional benefits for your dog, too?

Here at Pawsitively Pure, blueberries are among our favorite treats for our boys. Stick them in the freezer for a cool, crunchy snack on a hot afternoon, or try them in our Blueberry and Oats natural dog treats! Blueberries are a wonderful addition to any dog’s diet as a treat because:

• They help protect eyes. Older dogs in particular are susceptible to cataracts, especially if they’ve spent most of their time having fun in the sun. Studies have shown that blueberries help improve dogs’ nighttime vision as well as restoration of their visual acuity after exposure to glare. Keep your furry friend in good visual health for longer.

• They’re anti-carcinogenic. According to the Veterinary Cancer Society, cancer is the leading cause of death in 47% of dogs. Blueberries are full of a number of different compounds that help to prevent a variety of types of cancer, including colon cancer. Studies have even shown that the phenolic compounds in blueberries can cause cell death in cancerous cells.

• They’re great for the brain. Blueberries also contain a number of compounds that help support the brain’s function, especially later in life. They’re also great for puppies in that they provide nutrients shown to support spatial learning and memory, like Anthocyanin. Your old dog really can learn new tricks with the support of this tasty snack!

We love blueberries as a tasty and healthy addition to your dog’s diet. When you choose human-grade food for your dogs, you want to be sure you’re getting the freshest natural ingredients. Pawsitively Pure Dog Food features all natural, organic products, good enough for you AND your dog to eat (but please leave the snacking to the pups!). To view our available products, click here.