Tag: Dog Care Tips

Herbs make your best recipes burst with flavor and flowers and plants help spruce up our yards each spring. But these plants have hidden health benefits as well. Naturally occurring plants and herbs have been aids to good health for hundreds of years. Best Bully Sticks compiled a list of great herbs and plants that you can use to boost your pet’s health and can help with ailments from itchy skin, cuts, digestive problems and more!

Aloe Vera
This soothing plant has great health benefits for humans and dogs alike. Break off an Aloe plant’s spiky tendril and use the “juice” on minor cuts, scrapes and even sunburns.

Calendula Flowers
A pretty flowers, with powerful health benefits, the Calendula is a handy plant to have in your yard. This flower has anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities that you can use in a few different ways. The petals can be directly applied to a wound dressing or even brewed into a tea for an antiseptic wash. You can also add the Calendula flower’s petal tea to Shea Butter or Vitamin E lotion to make an ointment. These mixtures are great for cuts, scrapes, burns and even minor ear infections. 

Ginger
This knotted root is a great way to solve your dog’s tummy issues. Whether it’s motion sickness or nausea, ginger tea and dog biscuits are great ways to give your dog ginger. To make ginger tea, simply peel and slice ginger into roughly one-inch x 1/4-inch x 1/8-inch slices. Put 5-8 slices into a pot with ¼ cup water, bring to boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes. Let this mixture cool and add to your dog’s food. You can even feed your dog ginger slices by wrapping them in a slice or lean meat. If you’re on a trip, pack ginger snaps for your dog. 

Goldenseal
Despite its lofty name, Goldenseal is a fairly ambiguous looking plant with a small red, berry that blooms on top. This plant inhibits bacteria from latching on to cell walls and is particularly good for body parts with mucus membranes, such as the respiratory system and mouth. Mostly just the root is used in treatments and can be used to make poultices, teas and tinctures.

Chamomile
Hyper dog? The flowers of the chamomile plant work to soothe and calm your dog’s hyperactivity, upset stomach or even nervousness. This mild and gentle plant can be used in a tincture, water or oil infusion, salve or ointment. You can grow Chamomile yourself or purchase it in any health food store.

Echinacea
This handy plant can boost your dog’s immune system when he’s feeling a little under the weather. The root of this plant is what is used most often, but the leaves, stems and flowers can be used as well. Although Echinacea is most beneficial for the immune system, it can also be of help for urinary tracts and lymph systems. But no matter how it’s given to your dog, it give your dog the boost he needs!

Herbal Remedies are wonderful tools, but you should always contact your vet before starting any herbal treatment. These remedies can be toxic if not given the correct way or can cause allergic reactions. Every dog is different, so use talk to your vet prior to any herbal treatment.

Visit back next week when we talk about Supplements For Your Dog and be sure to read our simply Home Remedies For Dogs! 

Vegetable patches all over the country are producing wonderfully tasty food this summer. We at Best Bully Sticks could not be more excited about the array of vegetables and herbs this time of year! Tomatoes, squash, zucchini and cucumber are just some of the wholesome food that you can grow in your own back yard, or find fresh in farmer’s markets! If you enjoy these summer eats, then include your dog, too!

Remember, your dog’s ancestors were wild animals who scavenged and ate fruits and vegetables readily. Sharing vegetables with your dog is a great way to add healthy, nutritious vitamins and minerals to his diet. Read more to find out which vegetables you can share with your dog.

Pumpkin
Not just for Halloween and Thanksgiving anymore, pumpkin is a great source of vitamins and minerals for your dog. Beta-carotene, which is a great source of Vitamin A, and fiber are two of the biggest benefits pumpkin provides your pup. Just like humans, dogs need a healthy amount of fiber in their diet to keep their digestive system “regular.” Boiling fresh pumpkin and adding to your dog’s food is a great way to bring this vegetable into your dog’s diet.

Sweet Potato
These orange root vegetables are another great source of beta-carotene, Vitamin A and dietary fiber. Sweet Potatoes are also full of Vitamin C, K, manganese and potassium. Dogs love sweet potato and whether it’s dried into jerky or mashed into their food, your dog will be getting a tasty treat with tons of nutrients! Best Bully Sticks has a full line of Sweet Potato dog treats that your pooch will drool over!

Squash/Zucchini
Squash is similar to pumpkin in its digestive benefits, but is also great as a raw crunchy snack too. This gourd veggie is full of beta-carotene as well.

Zucchini is full of beta-carotene, calcium, potassium and folates. Give zucchini slices to your dog raw or frozen for a great green snack!

Green Beans & Peas
Frozen or thawed, dogs love green beans and peas! Your dog will benefit from the plant fiber, Vitamin C & K and manganese in green beans.  If your dog is overweight or constantly seems hungry, green beans are a great food replacement and snack. These empty calorie beans are a great all-purpose, round the clock food for your dog.

Peas are similarly nutritious for your pup and can be added straight to your dog’s food as well. Peas are a great source of B vitamin Thiamin, phosphorous and potassium.

Cucumber
Instead of sneaking a crunchy chip to your dog, sneak him a crunchy cucumber! These great dog snacks are low in calories and have lots of good calcium, potassium and beta-carotene.

Baby Carrots
Like cucumber, baby carrots are a great crunchy snack for your dog. Carrots are chock-full of beta-carotene! Raw, cooked or cut into carrot chips are great ways to give carrots to your dog. An added health benefit of feeding your dog carrots is the breath freshening property! Read more

Best Bully Sticks knows it’s easy to forget that our dogs were once wild animals. They didn’t sleep half the day, they didn’t chase after plastic bouncy balls, and they didn’t wear clothes, go to the groomer or get their toenails painted. Your sweet pooch is a descendant of wild dogs and before that, wolves! You have to remember that trapped somewhere inside that cute, cuddly exterior is a wild animal! You live with a wild animal! Isn’t that more than a little strange to think about?

That being said, your dog’s descendants definitely didn’t eat that dry brown food that comes out of a bag. Not that bagged dog food isn’t good. A good food provides all the necessary vitamins, minerals and proteins your dog needs. However, owners forget that dogs are natural hunters and scavengers and ate as much vegetation and roughage as they did meat.  Dog owners sometimes have a stigma of offering their dogs human food, thinking that it isn’t good for them. The fact is, there are some very nutritional and wholesome foods that are great for your dog and you shouldn’t be afraid to share. Over the next three weeks Best Bully Sticks will take you through some natural, “human” foods that will feed your dog and his wild side. Today we’re talking about fruit!

Banana
Most families have bananas on hand in their house for a healthy and quick snack. Your dog can benefit from the same high potassium levels, fiber, magnesium B6 and C vitamins as well as all the good antioxidants in bananas that you will when eating this berry. In a pinch, bananas can help remedy a troubled doggy stomach and you can easily mix banana in with your dog’s dry food to make it more appealing. However, some dogs don’t like bananas because of the compounds that make this berry smell, well, like a banana.

Cantaloupe
This great summer melon is cool and refreshing, so give your pup the benefits of vitamin C, potassium, antioxidants and fiber that cantaloupe offers. Make sure you remove all seeds when serving to your dog. You can serve fresh or even mix it with other fruit, freeze and serve as a doggy popsicle. You might even join in on that! Read more

It’s a picturesque scene: a child and their dog, growing up together and forming a lifelong bond. It’s a great experience for children and families alike, but this experience isn’t right for everyone. Best Bully Sticks knows that thoughtful and dog-loving parents want to give their children a four-legged companion to excite and enrich childhood, but as parents, you’ll want to consider carefully how brining a puppy into your child’s life will affect your entire family. Today BBS will guide you through some considerations for choosing the right dog for your children.

Lifestyle & Environment
The first aspect to start considering is your day-to-day life and schedule as well as your environment. Do you live in a rural area where your kids stay at home? Do you live in an apartment and your kids are at sporting practices three days out of the week? These will help you determine how much time you and your family will have to put into training and caring for a new puppy.

Other things to consider are health issues and personal preferences. Do any of your children have allergies? Does your child want a particular type of dog? Do you mind grooming or would rather have little to no maintenance at all? Will the puppy be an inside dog or an outside dog? Here is are some of the preferences you’ll want to consider:

-Grooming
-Exercise / Activity Level and Energy
-Size
-Physical Characteristics
-Temperament
-Assertiveness
-Pure breeds vs. Mixed breeds
-Buying from Breeders vs. Adopting from Rescues
-Budget

Research
If you have determined what your schedule allows and you have preferences nailed down, then start researching. You’ll want to pair your lifestyle, environment and preferences with a dog that is compatible with these factors. Adding all of these up should lead to a narrow field of contenders. Read more

Last week Best Bully Sticks introduced the idea of do-it-yourself projects for your dog. Making affordable and unique products for your dog is a great hobby, so BBS thought we would show you just how fun it could be!  Herb & Peppermint soap and a T-shirt Tug Toy were last week’s projects. As part 2 of this 3-week DIY series, BBS is moving into the world of sewing with a summer-friendly clothing accessory for your pooch! Doggy Baseball Caps are a great way to keep the hot sun out of Fido’s eyes and these caps are just adorable! 

You’ll Need
Fabric
Pattern
Scissors
Sewing Machine & Thread
Straps (for securing cap & adjusting size)

Patterns
All patterns are the correct size when printing.

XS-S Pattern

M-L Pattern

XL-XXL Pattern

Tips & Tricks
Remember that you have to cut the two patterns with the fabric folded in half, so you can get the entire two patterns: cap and visor.

When sewing the top cap piece to the visor, it makes the rounded form of the head in the back.

Sew some strips to adjust the cap to your dog the head size.

For a more professional finish, make a lining for the underside of the cap’s visor. Print and cut two visor patterns for this.

To get the visor to be rigid, paste a piece of cardboard, thin, flexible plastic or other rigid material between the fabric layers. A thick fabric might also work well.

Hopefully, this simply sewing recipe will be a useful summer accessory for your dog! Thank you to Free Dog Clothes Patterns for this great Doggy DIY Project and photos!

Stay tuned next week when BBS covers DIY Dog Beds!