The Importance of Giving Puppies and Dogs a Holistic Lifestyle
by Lynn Stacy-Smith
Having three dogs in a row diagnosed with serious or terminal illnesses will forever change how you care for your dogs. In fact Babe’s kidney disease, Dutch’s hemangiosarcoma, and Maggie’s lymphoma were the catalyst for the creation of Love, Laugh, Woof and ignited my passion for providing a healthy, holistic lifestyle for my dogs.
When I met my Jackson for the first time he was eight weeks old and I was picking him up from our amazing, loving, professional/hobby breeder who to me is the epitome of how every dog breeder should aspire to be. She and her dogs live in what I can only describe as Labrador Utopia, in a home in rural Iowa with a pond in which to swim, tall grass in which to play and fetch dummies and birds, high quality organic food in their bowls, and an owner with a passion for giving her dogs and puppies the healthiest life possible.
As I picked Jackson up and held him to me I realized that the cells in his body were untainted by toxins and that the beautiful young puppy in my arms was essentially a brand new life, a physical, living, breathing tabula rasa. I realized that it was my responsibility to keep him that way, to prevent him from coming into contact with carcinogens and toxic substances as much as possible, just like his breeder had for the eight weeks before I met him.
To give you a bit of history leading up to the day I met Jackson, my late black Lab Babe was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2007, right around the time many dog foods were being recalled for melamine contamination. I never pursued trying to link her problems to the mainstream food that I was purchasing for her at the big box pet stores, but it did prompt me to start looking into what I was feeding her and to find more natural ways to try to help her live with partial kidney failure. I was successful in slowing down her loss of kidney function and ultimately the reason she was euthanized at the age of fourteen was not because of her kidneys but because her legs just could not carry her anymore and I knew she was in terrible pain.
After Babe passed away I continued learning about how to provide a healthy life for my dogs and changed many of the products that we were giving to Dutch and Maggie, including switching their food and treats. I was still shopping at the big box pet store but we had switched to an up and coming “holistic” brand instead of the mainstream brand with the shiny bags and big advertising budget that took the focus off of their low quality ingredients that we had previously fed. Of course that brand has since adopted the big advertising budget with national televised ads and a two story booth at pet trade shows.
That realization that I had as I held Jackson in my arms while standing in my breeder’s kitchen changed everything and led me to where we are today, with healthy organic food created by one of the great minds in the pet food industry and made with top quality human grade ingredients, carefully selected treats, filtered water in safely made bowls, toys and bedding made in the USA under strict standards, and all of the other things that I do to create a happy, healthy, holistic lifestyle to keep the dogs as safe and healthy as possible in a world that is full of toxins and hazards.
So what exactly do I mean by a happy, healthy, holistic lifestyle? After all, we hear the words healthy, organic, holistic tossed around more than ever these days.
Well, the word holistic refers to viewing something as a whole entity rather than just all of its various parts. I consider a holistic lifestyle for dogs to be a life in which we nurture these four areas: mind, body, nutrition/food, and their environment/home. Let’s take a look at how we can impact those areas in our dogs’ lives:
Mind: Stress and anxiety weaken a human or animal’s immune system, which is of course what fights off disease and toxic substances. Keeping your dog’s mind happy and sharp can directly impact their health.
Body: This area really has two subcategories: physical exercise and the things that go into your dog’s body. Plenty of physical exercise and attention to all of the products that you purchase for your dog are an important part of a healthy, holistic lifestyle.
Home: Dogs are in close contact with everything you use in your home, from cleaning products to lawn care chemicals. The more organic and natural options you use to maintain your home, the healthier it is for your dog who is sniffing, breathing, and walking through your house perhaps more than any of the humans who live there.
Food: More and more dog owners are becoming passionate about knowing what goes into their dog’s bodies at mealtime. There are some great dog foods on the market and some horrible options and it is important to understand what to feed and what to avoid.
There is no guarantee that all of these efforts are going to result in a longer lifespan for my beloved Jackson and Tinkerbell, but I can tell you it is not going to hurt them to put a great deal of thought and research into the choices I make for them. Sometimes it is hard to keep from wanting them to live in a bubble that protects them from anything that is not dog momma approved, and I have to push past my fears of what they are walking through or breathing in when we walk in the local park or on other people’s property, especially the large expanses of grass that are weed and dandelion free and most likely treated with harmful lawn products. But I realize that to not take them on walks, to not take them on adventures out into the world, would be detrimental to their mind and spirit, and so I work hard to boost their immune systems to battle those toxins and unhealthy things.
If you have a new puppy or are thinking about getting a puppy, you too have the chance to start off their lives with healthy options and toxic free products. If you have an older dog, it is never too late to learn about ways to make better choices for them just like we are always striving to improve our own health throughout our lives. My thought process is that if I can add even one week or one day to my dog’s life, then it is all worth it. If I can help them feel better throughout their life, it is all worth it. Plus it has impacted how we care for our human bodies in our house, too, but that is a whole other series of blogs for another day!
If you would like to learn more about my version of a holistic lifestyle for dogs, the next Love, Laugh, Woof Happy, Healthy Dog Challenge will begin on Monday, May 1, 2017. The Happy, Healthy Dog Challenge is a fun, educational, FREE workshop that takes place over a one week period in our private Facebook group. You will assess your dog’s current lifestyle in the four areas I mentioned above and watch videos, participate in conversations and learn more about creating a happy, healthy all over (aka holistic) lifestyle for your canine best friend.
Click here to join the Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/happyhealthydogchallenge.
Not on Facebook? Email me at lovelaughwoof@outlook.com with the subject Happy, Healthy Dog Challenge and I will add you to an email version of this challenge.