Fellow author Judi Holdeman sent me an email that contained a warning that had been in a recent health newsletter from Jeff Reagan. Here’s the essence of that warning (and my emphasis in parts):
If your dog is anything like my dog, they probably love a good scoop of peanut butter.
As I’m writing this, my pup Ellie is actually snuggled up next to my leg and going to town on her peanut butter filled Kong. She’s in heaven…
But I want to warn you about a NEW problem with dogs and peanut butter.
There’s been a number of reports lately of dogs who are winding up dead because of their beloved peanut butter.
How is this happening?
It has to do with a new ingredient being used in certain peanut butters.
That ingredient is xylitol.
Xylitol is an artificial sweetener that you’ll recognize from things like gum and candy.
And while it’s generally “safe” for humans to eat, it can be deadly for dogs. Just a small amount of it can cause severe liver damage and can even kill your dog.
From my research, I’ve found 5 brands of peanut butter that have recently added xylitol to their ingredients. I’m listing these brands below…
– Go Nuts Co
– Hank’s Protein Plus Peanut Butter
– Krush Nutrition
– Nuts N More
– P28
Now luckily most of these are NOT the most popular brands.
These brands are usually sold at specialty shops or health food stores.
But I still wanted to alert you to this…
Because if your dog is anything like mine, they probably love peanut butter.
So make sure you’re staying away from the brands I listed above.
And double-check the label on your peanut butter to make sure it doesn’t have xylitol in it.
Feel free to forward this email on to your friends or family that have dogs so they are aware of this…
– Jeff Reagan. Editor, Patriot Health Alliance
Please, good people, do share this as far and wide as possible.
We, as in humanity, could be very close to the end!
Now my sub-title could be argued as being a tad provocative and, perhaps, it is. But I wanted to catch your attention and then hope that you stay with me for today’s post.
Jean and I belong to the Humanists & Freethinkers Group of Grants Pass. At last Saturday’s meeting the main item was a talk given by William Kötke: His website is here. Bill, as he was happy to be called, is the author of the books The Final Empire and Garden Planet (the links take you to the respective Amazon pages). Bill also has more details of his first book here.
The essence of Bill’s talk was that when we ‘evolved’ from a life of hunting and gathering to developing the land for agricultural purposes we lost our connection to the planet. For the simple reason that as foragers we depended on always being able to find edible wild plants and fruit, and therefore lived in balance with the land, but when we started to farm we became protective, materialistic and greedy. For having more land, even if one took it by force from another, equated to making more; making more food, using the surplus to buy favours, sell, etc.
Some of the facts that Bill presented in his talk were truly frightening such as soil loss; a topic I highlight in tomorrow’s post.
But for now just settle down and watch this interview of Bill filmed by Woodburn Community Access Television.
Published on Jan 10, 2016
Author and Futurist William H. Kotke shares with Woodburn his years of knowledge and understandings of the Human History and The Current Dilemma all of us face as a species.
Is there a way forward?
Yes, I think so and it’s all to do with communities; more on that in a later post.
Is this anything to do with dogs?
Here’s what the Welcome page of this blog says (in part):
As man’s companion, protector and helper, history suggests that dogs were critically important in man achieving success as a hunter-gatherer. Dogs ‘teaching’ man to be so successful a hunter enabled evolution, some 20,000 years later, to farming, thence the long journey to modern man. But in the last, say 100 years, that farming spirit has become corrupted to the point where we see the planet’s plant and mineral resources as infinite. Mankind is close to the edge of extinction, literally and spiritually.
Dogs know better, much better! Time again for man to learn from dogs!
That saying from the lips of Henry David Thoreau, the American essayist, poet and philosopher, reminds us that we must be that change before that change comes along.
Thus whatever you or I, or anyone else, thinks is wrong with these times, so eloquently expressed by George Monbiot in his essay republished in this place yesterday, bringing about the changes that you or I, or anyone else, want has to start with the individual.
That, inevitably, requires many to chose which path to follow.
Last Saturday, Sue Dreamwalker of the blog Dreamwalker’s Sanctuary, published a post that truly couldn’t have been better written in terms of following on to yesterday’s post.
Here it is republished with Sue’s kind permission.
I felt the need to post something deeper again today, and I could find no better words to write than I have already written as my thoughts go out to the many places around our globe in conflict right now.
I know there are many new subscribers here to Dreamwalker’s Sanctuary this year who may not have read this post.. I thank all in advance for their contributions..
If I am slow getting back to you, it’s because I want some time to paint this weekend and walk out in nature..
So look after each other and choose your Pathway well..
Love and Blessings
Sue❤
Much is happening with our Earth Plane at this time of transformation, the Mayans called it
“ A crossroads of time of Great External Changes and Major Internal Upheavals”.
We have seen around the globe how many nations are starting to change, we are also changing ourselves internally through our awareness and intuition and I see many withdrawing into themselves as they seek peace as they set about clearing the debris of our emotional bodies, myself included as we adjust to the vibrations around us.
At times all that is thrown our way is too disturbing to cope with, so we withdraw within our inner sanctuaries finding solace within Nature and our meditations..
I have to remind myself daily of the GOOD in this world as we get constantly bombarded with the BAD… So many things which are UGLY in this world which led me to revisit a post first posted in 2012.. The Good Bad and Ugly.. in which I used the Mayan quote above..
Everything in this world mirrors everything else, and everything is part of everything else, as difficult as that is to comprehend. So while we react with outrage, our rage is joining the tide of Anger already out there which is foaming back and forth in the sea of discontent.
It seems as if our very Earth Mother feels that anger as she too is rumbling ever louder in the bowels of our planet as we have seen how devastating her energies can be in Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions which are now becoming more active again around our globe..
We have to be careful not to be taken down the road of Fear.. Lest it trap us into engaging in giving out more fear by our failure to see how we are all quick to judge and use our own prejudices in labelling that which we are not in alignment with. Whether that be in our politics, beliefs, or idealisms. None of us is perfect.
We are now ‘Shifting’ from duality to Unity Consciousness, this was brought home again to me on how many of us are thinking similar thoughts even here on WP we see similar themes as we link into the Mass Consciousness as we join together our thoughts as we link subconsciously to the Cosmic web of thoughts..
We need to be aware of the Power of our thoughts and how we can assist in raising our planets vibration and our own collective Consciousness..
Much has been spoken upon Ascension, but first we need to ascend through our own layers as we climb ever higher, leaving behind the things that no longer serve us.
We do that by not getting swept up in conflict.. by being more loving and tolerant and being compassionate rather than being judgmental holding hate and anger.
We need to put the Care back in the world and if we embrace and choose Love over fear and we stop looking who to blame, but start to set examples of living in harmony and unity, then the true magnificence of who we really are can begin to manifest that ‘Golden Age’ which was once prophesied to bring about Peace..
But it’s up to us to pledge to change our own lives,and when we each start bringing back that peace within our own Lives, It’s up to each of us which road we want to take. And what dominant energy we want to prevail.. I choose Love.
Blessings
Sue.
ooOOoo
You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.
So said Jim Rohn, the American businessman who died in 2009.
Twenty-one things my dog taught me about being a better man.
June 7, 2010 by Olivier Blanchard
We had to put our golden retriever to sleep this weekend, our friend of fifteen years, our family’s faithful guardian and companion, and one of the kindest, most loyal and giving souls I have ever met. True to her breed, Sasha was courageous, tender and selfless until the end.
I was trying to figure out how to give her a worthy send-off here on The BrandBuilder blog, and settled on some of the things she taught me over the years. Or rather, the things I didn’t realize she had taught me until this past week, much of which I spent caring for her, as she could no longer take care of herself. She and I had some long chats, in our own way, and the old girl was much wiser than I gave her credit for.
Are there business lessons in this list? Yes. There are. But all are deeply human lessons at the core. If being human can make a business better, if it can fuel its soul (or even simply give it one), then yes, let these be business lessons. But don’t ever forget that what makes a business truly great isn’t technology or design or a fancy logo. Those are expressions of something deeper. Something more visceral and powerful and true. What makes a business great, what makes it special, worthy of a connection, worthy of trust and loyalty, admiration and respect, even love, always starts with a beating heart, not a beeping cash register. (One is the cause, and the other one of many effects. Don’t lose sight of that distinction. Horse before cart: Soul drives love. Love drives business.)
It’s so easy to lose sight of what’s important in our lives. And this isn’t me being overly sentimental because I just lost my dog. I mean, yes, sure, okay… But there’s also something to this: That sentimentality, that emotion, these things that make us connect with other souls is at the heart of EVERYTHING this blog has been about these last few years: Business, design, marketing, social media, communications, corporate responsibility, best practices… No company can ever be great unless it can tap into the very essence of what makes us want to connect with each other, and no executive or business manager or cashier can ever truly be great at their jobs unless they also tap into the very thing that makes genuine human connections possible. If ever there was a secret to successfully building a brand, a lovebrand, the kind that people will fight for and whose mark they will tattoo on their bodies, it is this. The rest is merely execution.
If you only walk away with one bit of wisdom from this post, let it be this: You cannot build a better business unless you first become a better human being. Everything that strips you of your humanity, of your empathy, of your ability to connect with others is bad for business. It’s bad practice. It is doomed to fail in the end.
As my good friend John Warner noted yesterday, “If more people were as loyal and loving as dogs the world would be a better place.” (source) And he’s right. How do you become a better human being then? Well, that’s up to you, but if you had asked Sasha, she might have given you a few pointers of her own. Granted, she was never a Fortune 500 C.M.O. She didn’t design the iPad. She didn’t invent the internet or write a book. She never presented at a conference. All she did was hang out with me and Chico. We went on car rides. She watched me work. She lived the simple life of a dog, uncluttered by Twitter followers and Hubspot rankings and the drive to publish and present case studies. She was a dog, and so her perspective is a little different from what you may be used to. At any rate, here are twenty-one she and I discussed at length last week. I hope they will be as valuable to you as they now are to me.
Twenty-one things my dog taught me about being a better man:
1. Be true to your own nature. There’s no point in faking it. A golden retriever isn’t a chihuahua or a pug or a greyhound, and for good reason. Being comfortable in your own skin is 90% of the trick to rocking out your life. Not everyone is meant to be Rintintin or a seeing-eye dog or an Iditarod racer. It’s okay. Find yourself and embrace your nature. That’s always a great place to start.
2. Be true to the ones you love. Your friends, your family, your tribe, your pack. A life lived for others is a life well-lived. Selfish pursuits aside, ambition often grows hollow when turned inwardly instead of outwardly. It’s one thing to want to be pack leader, but there is just as much value and honor in serving than in leading. When in doubt, see item number one.
3. Never say no to a chance to go on a car ride. When the days grow short, I guarantee you’ll wish you’d have gone on more car rides.
4. Leashes are the enemy. Avoid them at all cost.
5. People are strange. So much potential, yet here they are, doing everything they can to complicate rather than simplify their lives. It’s puzzling.
6. Belly scratches.
7. The end isn’t pretty, but if you can face it with dignity and grace, none of your body’s weaknesses will matter. Your heart, your courage, your spirit is what people will see and remember. This isn’t only applicable in your last days and weeks. It’s applicable every day of your life. Adversity happens. It’s how you deal with it that matters.
8. Forgiveness is easier for dogs than for humans, but humans have opposable thumbs and the ability to speak, so it all balances out in the end.
9. Your bark is your own. No one has one quite like yours. Own it. Love it. Project it.
10. Trust your instincts. They rarely steer you wrong. The feeling in your gut though, that’s probably just something you ate.
11. Just because you’re meant to live on land doesn’t mean you can’t feel at home in water. Play outside the safety zone. Swim in the deep end. Dive in. We’re all designed to do more than the obvious.
12. Play more. The game is irrelevant. Just play. Tip: Exploring is play. Having adventures is play. Finding out what’s behind the next hill is play.
13. Your body growing old doesn’t mean you can’t be a puppy at heart. Actually, the first should have no impact on the latter. If you find that it does, take a step back, regroup, and restart. Always be a puppy at heart.
14. Humans aren’t all bad. But they aren’t all good either. Choose yours wisely.
15. Always keep that 20% wolf in you. If you ever give it up, you’re done. A dog without a little wildness in the blood isn’t a dog. It’s a furry robot. The beauty of a great dog doesn’t lie in its obedience but in its loyalty. Loyalty is a choice. Dogs choose to be dogs and not wolves. That’s what makes them so special.
16. Running full bore across a field in the rain.
17. There are no mysteries. Take cats, for example: Half rat, half badger. Crap in a box. Eat rodents. Where’s the mystery in that? If you look hard enough, you can figure most things out for yourself. The world isn’t as complicated as it sometimes seems.
18. Sometimes, you have to back up your growl with a bite. Go with it. Some people like to test your bark-to-bite ratio. With those “inquisitive” types, a little education goes a long way. As much as it sucks to have to go there, it is sometimes necessary. (It’s what the fangs are for.) Your territory, your space, your safety… They’re worth defending. Make a show of it once, and chances are you’ll never have to teach anyone a lesson again.
19. Being alone is no way to go through life. We’re pack animals. Humans, dogs, same thing. We need others to make all of this worthwhile. As an aside, if we live through others, why not also live for others, even if only a little bit? It isn’t that much of a stretch.
20. When you chase the ball, CHASE the fucking ball. Two reasons: a) It’s a chase. You don’t half-ass a chase. You go all out. It’s what you do. It’s the point. b) You don’t want some other mutt to get to the ball before you and slobber it all up, do you?
21. In the end, you will revisit your adventures, your battles, your chases, your voyages and all the excitement of your life with bemused pride, but it’s the quiet moments with loved ones that your mind will settle on. The comfort of those days when all you did was spend lazy hours with them, your head on their lap, their’s on yours, taking in the afternoon sun and the hundreds of fleeting stories carried like whispers on the breeze, those are the memories that will stay with you to the end and beyond.
Never give up on your thirst for life, on the beauty subtle moments, and on chasing that ball as hard and fast as your legs and heart will carry you.
Godspeed, Sasha.
Sasha (1995 – 2010) R.I.P.
ooOOoo
Shortly after completing today’s post, I read the following. It seemed appropriate to include it today.
When you talk, you are only repeating what you know,
Really good news now that it’s well over a month since our two dogs have been taking this oil.
First off, I want to republish in full a post first shared with you all on the 19th September.
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Just wanted to share our early results with you.
Back on the 13th September, I published a post under the title of Listening to our pets in more difficult times. I mentioned that Pharaoh was suffering pain in his rear hip joints and struggling at times to get up on all four feet and that we had started giving him Rimadyl.
Don’t wait around for a vet to tell you that your dog is in pain. You live in a state with legal MJ plus hemp oil is legal in all 50 states. I give CBD oil to my BC X Aussie 12 year old dog. He could not get up and yelped in pain before I began giving him 0.7ml daily that I drizzle over his food., After second dose he could stand up without help. Now he walks and runs with fluid movements of all limbs. It is totally safe and doesn’t require expensive tests, The danger of Rimadyl and other meds in that class used to treat arthritis, is that these types of meds cause kidney damage and your pet will have a shortened life span. Hemp oil works like a charm with no side effects.
We did some research and came across the following brand of Hemp (CBD) Oil specifically for dogs. We ordered it and it arrived last Saturday. Jean did not delay in adding* it twice a day to the food for both Pharaoh and Paloma.
Here we are at the end of Tuesday, at the time of writing this post, and already we can see observable improvements in both dogs.
Yes, it’s early days but I wanted to share this with you now.
There will be a more extensive report from me once these dogs have been using the oil for a few weeks.
One dropperful twice a day for Pharaoh, approx. 105 lbs, and half a dropperful twice a day for Paloma, approx. 45 lbs.
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Yesterday, as in Sunday 23rd, as per usual I let the ‘bedroom’ group of dogs out around 7am when I went down to clear out the stables. Usually Pharaoh comes away from the front door and ends up laying down on the area just outside the garage door.
But on this day he decided to trot down to the stables and join the others, mainly Brandy, Cleo and Oliver, in sniffing around after the horses and eating fresh horse dung. (Don’t ask me why our dogs find it so tasty!)
It was so lovely to see Pharaoh, who will be 13 1/2 years-old on December 3rd., still being able to walk around the property when he is in the mood.
Frankly, Jean and I are amazed at how well he is doing and how the hip displasia has not yet defeated him. We are certain that the CBD Hemp oil is a key factor.
Later that morning I took a couple of photographs to support my claim that he is still walking around, albeit somewhat stiffly first thing in the day.
Cleo watching Pharaoh come away from the house.A shot taken of Pharaoh walking past me.
At 9pm last night water running down the cable from the wireless internet antenna outside came into the house and caused the ‘power adapter’ unit to fail.
Amazingly between me and our supplier, Outreach Internet, service was resumed about an hour ago.
However, until the Outreach engineer can come to our property and do a proper clean-up job there’s no guarantee that we might not lose service again.
Just wanted all you good people to be aware of that.
(And as at this time of writing we are up to 4 in of rain since yesterday morning!)
Back in September, I received an email from a Paige Johnson. He offered to write a guest post for Learning from Dogs. Now I love guest posts simply because I think that different perspectives are always valuable, and let’s face it you get enough of me ‘rabbiting on’ most days.
This is what Paige’s email said:
I reached out to your recently with a guest article offer and just wanted to send a quick note to follow up.
I’ve had my dog, GG, since my early 20s, and though it wasn’t easy — in fact, it was quite the trial and error process for both of us! — I’m happy to report that she has become a well-trained pup, great with kids, adults, and other animals.
That said, GG and I are about to face another challenge together. Moving. I know that uprooting her from the only home she’s ever known won’t be easy for her so I’ve been doing some research on how to make the process go as smoothly as possible for both of us.
I run LearnFit.org with some friends, and collectively, we love helping readers find balance in their life. Adding a dog to the mix definitely brings happiness, but it can be a tough adjustment, especially when you face another big life event, like moving or having a child.
Who wouldn’t warm to that approach!
So here is Paige’s guest post.
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4 Tips for New Dog Owners Who Need to Break Up with Your Vet
When you become a new dog owner, you worry about what to feed him, how often to bathe him, the best type of flea and tick treatment to use to protect him, and a litany of other things involved in caring for him. You also need to make sure that your veterinarian is on the same page with you so that you are comfortable with relying on him to deliver the best quality care for him and advice for you. Sometimes, however, you need to break up with your vet for one reason or another. If you are a new dog owner who needs to break up with your vet, we offer four tips to help you do it as quickly and painlessly as possible.
1. Consider all of the interactions you have had with your veterinarian
If you are having a difficult time deciding whether to leave your veterinarian, think about how you have been treated by the vet and his office staff and how your new dog has been cared for at the office. If your vet has been pushing you to purchase pet food and care products from him, or he has a policy that you must board your dog only at his office when you go out of town, you most likely are justified in thinking that it is time to break up with him. Vets who try to monopolize services unfortunately are in the business more for making money than for providing quality animal care.
As a new dog owner, you need to be aware of your right to feed your dog whatever food you feel is best for his nutrition and health and not just what your vet sells. You also have the right to choose a dog boarding provider who will provide one-to-one care for your dog while you are out of town, rather than put your dog in an impersonal kennel at the vet’s office. When you leave the vet, you should consider all of the interactions you have had with him, and if you feel that you are being pushed into choosing products and services that he offers without having a freedom of choice, you should break up with him.
2. Break up sooner, rather than later
As soon as you feel that you need to break up with your vet, you should take action. Breaking up with your vet sooner rather than later will make the process much easier on you. Prolonging your relationship with your vet when you are considering cutting ties with him will increase your uneasiness and make an awkward situation even more uncomfortable.
You especially need to break up with your vet as soon as your instincts tell you to do so if you are concerned that he is not providing adequate care for your dog. The last thing you want is to put your dog’s health in jeopardy because you are afraid to break up with your vet. As a new dog owner, it is your responsibility to put your dog’s health above everything else when you deal with your veterinarian and make decisions regarding his treatment and care.
3. Ask office personnel to transfer your records to a new veterinarian
You want to be sure you have a new veterinarian on board with your new dog before you leave your old vet’s office, so that your dog’s health is never at risk during the transition. Call your current veterinarian’s office and politely ask office personnel to transfer your records to your new vet. Even if you have had issues with office staff before, it is well within your rights as a pet owner to switch vets and have your records sent to the vet of your choice. The staff should treat you with professional courtesy as long as you are straightforward and polite as well during the interaction.
4. Explain the situation to your veterinarian if you are leaving because of extenuating circumstances
Sometimes, even people who love their veterinarians need to break up with them because of extenuating circumstances. For example, you may be moving to a new town and cannot take the time to drive to your current vet’s office from your new home. If you have been happy with the care from your veterinarian and are sad to leave his care, explain the situation to him and ask for some recommendations for your new area. Your vet may be able to refer you to a new office that shares his level of care and commitment to your new dog. Your vet also may be able to refer you to other services for your dog in your new area, such as reputable dog walkers or accommodating dog parks.
Breaking up with your veterinarian is not a fun thing to do for new dog owners, especially if you love your vet and don’t want to leave his care. However, you need to put your dog’s health first, and if your current veterinarian cannot meet your dog’s needs, it is time to break up and go elsewhere. Our four tips will make the process easier for you.
I was outside working yesterday afternoon and came back into the house some thirty minutes before Jean and I were due to visit a neighbour. Ergo, I was looking for a shortcut in terms of putting together a post for all you good people.
The notion came to me that I would republish something that was on Learning from Dogs some fives years ago: October 8th, 2011 to be exact.
Here it is!
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Sit back and Smile
With thanks to Ellen M. for passing this across to Learning from Dogs.
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Then to prove how quickly time flies by, guess what! Dear Sue Dreamwalker left a message to that post back in 2011.
What a great story and video… 🙂 .. Love this guys last comment about his Best Friend being less expensive than a girl friend.. lol.. Dogs Rule..
Just as Sue is still doing and, I bet, will be leaving a wonderful response today!
October 7, 2016 — Mars Petcare has announced it has initiated a voluntary recall of a limited number of Cesar Filet Mignon Flavor wet dog food due to a potential choking risk from small pieces of plastic which entered the food during the production process.
What’s Recalled?
Cesar Classics Filet Mignon can be purchased individually as well as in flavor variety multipacks.
The affected dog food can be identified by checking the Best Before and Lot Code on the product lid.
Each product will have a lot code printed on the side of the tray that begins with 631FKKC or 631GKKC and best before date that falls between 08/04/18 and 08/05/18.
The Cesar Classics Filet Mignon Flavor can also be found in variety packs with the following lot codes:
632D14JC
633B24JC
634A14JC
634A24JC
634B14JC
634B24JC
634E14JC
635A24JC
635B14JC
636D24JC
636E14JC
Lot Code is indicated by the red box below:
The Lot Codes listed above are the only affected products. All other Cesar products can be safely consumed.
Why the Recall?
Select packages of this product may contain small pieces of plastic, which entered the food during the production process.
What to Do?
Mars Petcare encourages consumers who have purchased affected product to discard the food or return it to the retailer for a full refund or exchange.
While a small number of consumers have reported finding the plastic pieces, we have not received any reports of injury or illness associated with the affected product.
At Mars Petcare, we take our responsibility to pets and their owners seriously and are working with all of our distributors and retail customers to ensure the recalled products are no longer sold and are removed from inventory.
Consumers can reach the company at 800-421-6456.
U.S. citizens can report complaints about FDA-regulated pet food products by calling the consumer complaint coordinator in your area.
These four kittens were rescued and reunited with their mother. (Photo: Celia Hammond/Facebook)
The owner of a dry-cleaning shop got a surprise recently when he heard crying and mewing from the back of one of his machines. Fortunately, this on-the-ball dry-cleaner called an animal rescue squad who rescued the four small kittens and reunited them with their mother.
According to the BBC , the dry cleaning shop where the kittens were found is located in Forest Gate, a residential suburb of London. The shop owner called animal rescuers from the Celia Hammond Animal Trust, a local animal rescue center, to help identify the source of the sounds.
Rescuers dismantled the tumble dryer where the noises were coming from and found four small ginger kittens inside. They also located the kittens’ mother when they noticed a distressed cat pacing outside the shop.
The shop owner told rescuers that a nearby resident had moved and left the pregnant cat behind. That poor distressed mama clearly needed a warm, dry place to give birth and she found it inside the dry-cleaning tumble machine.
One of the animal rescuers noted on their Facebook page that the kittens were in bad shape when they were found, “[w]hen we picked them up they were filthy, covered in grease and dirt and had been breathing carbon tetrachloride fumes since they were born in the back of the machine.”
Thankfully, the kittens and their mother are now being well cared for in a foster home.
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One might ponder about the kittens having a clean start to their young lives! (Sorry!)
Learning from Dogs 