Holistic Pets

These days, it seems that organic is the way to go. But when it comes to our canines, does it really pay to go organic? The answer is yes. Organic dog food contains a better source of nutritional value than even the most premium of non-organic brands. Feeding your four-legged friend organic dog food does more the leave him with a shiny coat. It gives your dog more energy, reduces digestive problems and improves your dog’s quality of life.

If we humans are feeling lethargic and low on energy then we’re not inclined to go on that walk or get to the gym. The same goes for your dog. Just like us, your dog’s energy level dictates how much he’ll exercise. The less active he is the more likely he’ll be overweight, which can lead to a host of problems including, hip dysphasia, diabetes and organ failure. By choosing to feed your dog organic dog food, you’re going to help him gain more energy and thus more exercise.

Organic food is naturally more nutritious than non-organic brands and nutrient-rich ingredients quite simply produce more energy. Organic food also does not contain bulk-fillers, which are inexpensive ingredients such as corn and potatoes that just “fill” your dog up. Some studies even show that dogs that eat organic tend to eat less amounts overall, which along with increased energy and exercise, aids in maintaining your dog’s healthy weight.

Since organic food is not made with chemicals, fillers and artificial substances, it doesn’t wreak havoc on your four-legged friend’s digestive system. Such harmful substances are replaced with healthy oats, whole grains and human-grade proteins such as chicken, turkey and lamb. These ingredients are much easier for your dog to digest and lead to less bloating, less gas and healthier amounts of waste. As an added benefit you’ll find that your dog will show a decrease in skin infections and allergies.

Even if your canine doesn’t seem to be lethargic or show any digestive issues or skin ailments, your his quality of life can be greatly affected by diet. The food you choose to feed your dog will have a direct impact on how he looks, behaves and feels. Organic foods boost the immune system of your dog, which will help him fight off future illness and infection down the road. Infections and illnesses are not only expensive to treat, but are also quite painful and annoying for your dog, thus diminishing his quality of life. Buying organic dog food essentially means that you’re being ensuring your dog a healthier future.

Today more and more Veterinarians are recommending dog owners buy organic––even above premium, non-organic brands. That’s because their benefits are plentiful. Dogs that eat organic food tend to eat less overall and absorb more of the nutrients they really need. The result is an increase in energy and maintenance of a healthy weight, a healthy digestive system with less waste and, with a boost to the immune system, an increase in quality of life. If going organic is good enough for us, it’s good enough for our best friends.

Organic Lawn Care Programs -

Give your lawn the organic advantage. That is what countless lawn service providers around the U.S. are doing for their customers. Organic fertilizers and other lawn maintenance products allow effective lawn care practices while keeping a conscious mind for the environment. With organic lawncare programs, environmentally mindful customers can nourish their lawns all season long using 100% natural fertilizers.

In addition to the environmental benefits, these products are also kid and pet friendly. There is no need to worry about letting the dog out while the lawn maintenance crew is working. Now entire families can enjoy their lawn when they want, without having to wait for a certain period of time after the products are applied.

The best part about organic lawn treatment programs is that these products work on any type of grass in any kind of climate. No matter where you are you could be enjoying a lush, green lawn all year round that is safe for your pets and children.

Organic Lawn Treatments: 100% natural nourishment for your lawn -

One of the biggest keys to making your lawn thick and lush is the use of fertilizers. These are typically chemical compounds which change the chemical composition of the soil, allowing the grass plants to obtain better nutrients. However, 100% natural and organic fertilizers exist that can be nearly as effective. Below are a few examples of natural organic fertilizers that can be used in place of the chemical varieties.

*Manure
*Peat moss
*Seaweed
*Compost

Compost is a great organic fertilizer because you can make it yourself with the existing vegetation in your own yard.

A good organic lawn care program will also feed your lawn with 100% natural organic lawn food. Just like flowers and other flora need plant food, so does grass — remember, grass is a plant! Over time, lawn food will help you develop a thicker, greener lawn the natural way.

Organic Targeted Weed and Pest Control: Organic fertilizer with targeted non-organic weed and pest control -

Pest control is another huge part of proper lawn maintenance. While organic fertilizers and plant food are available in several different varieties, organic pest control products are less abundant. Most organic or “natural” pest control product lack the effectiveness of inorganic options. Because defending your lawn from pests helps keep your lawn healthy and disease free, this is not a good option.

Other pest control products claim to be organic yet still contain potentially harmful ingredients, both to the environment as well as to your children and pets. The ideal pest control product is one that is both safe and effective.

Contact your lawn care specialist for more information about where to obtain these products and to confirm if they are appropriate for your lawn. Only with a professional lawn care service provider can you be 100% sure that your lawn will be green for you and your family while also being “green” for the environment.

As more and more people are becoming aware about the harmful chemicals present in almost every product, they have switched over to Organic products. Organic products are in great demand these days. The pesticides and chemical fertilizers that are sprayed on plants so as to improve their production capacity, has great side-effects in our body. People are suffering health and skin problems due to accumulation of toxins in their bodies. Hence it is best to consume and use organic products that are not only safe but also provide numerous health benefits. Organic products include natural food, natural herbs and teas, coffees, natural remedies, organic essential oils, natural skin care and bath products, eco-friendly gifts, etc. Here are a few benefits of using organic products: 1. Organic products are eco-friendly: Organic products reduce the use of non-renewable resources, which are scarce. Organic products do not pollute the atmosphere and help to maintain the wildlife too. 2. Healthy for human body: As we are aware about the fact that organic products are natural products without any traces of chemicals or toxic substances. Thus it provides all the essential nutrients to our body that help us remain healthy and strong. Natural herbs and teas helps your body function perfectly thereby improving your resistance power. 3. No synthetic products: Organic products are free from any kind of preservatives, artificial colors or chemicals. Thus these are completely safe to use without any side-effects. 4. Good for nature: Organic products are good for nature as it uses customary methods of crop rotation. As no chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used, it helps to maintain a perfect balance n nature. 5. Organic products are not harmful to animals: Organic precuts are never tried and tested on animals. These are in fact tried on humans, thus ensuring safety to wildlife. 6. Caring for you and the planet: By using and consuming organic products you not only do good to yourself, but you do a lot of good to this planet too. The organic skin care products and organic bath products make you look fresh and radiant. The essential bath oils include various health benefits. Thus you look younger, healthier and stronger. As well all know that natural remedies are the safest to cure any health disorder. These natural remedies do not contain harmful sedatives or tranquilizers that rather spoil you health than doing anything good. Herbal and natural remedies cure the body without leaving any side-effects, unlike potent drugs and medicines. Whatever problem you are suffering from, organic products are best for you. Even your pet’s health shows amazing improvement by using organic products. Whether you want to lose weight or look young, you get whatever you want. Organic products are 100% natural, effective and without any side-effects. Say bye-bye to unhealthy living and start living health naturally. Use organic products and save yourself and our earth. Enjoy living with perfect health and skin, get rid of all those ailments a natural way by adopting organic products wherever it’s possible.

Organic supplements – are they really the next big thing? Take a look at the shelves in the medicine section of your local department store. This will provide a practical answer to this question. You’ll find all kinds of health supplements ranging from synthetic, natural and organic—for supporting general health protection to specific health issues such as cardiovascular health, weight loss or anti-aging. Support from scientific research, and recommendations from the medical profession, has given a significant boost to manufacturing organic supplements. As a result this organic manufacturing is doing booming business with a 5-15% rise in sales each year for the past decade.

The President of Natural Marketing Institute, Maryellen Molyneaux says, “This category (organic supplements) will continue to grow, driven by consumers’ desire for increased management of their health and more health options, and the high number of new product introductions across food and beverages that answer those needs.”

Organic Supplements: The Facts
Why would a consumer choose organic over natural or synthetic supplements? The answer is simple. Health has become a primary issue for most Americans. The American consumer has become more proactive in taking his health into his own hands. The American consumer is more educated today than ever about nutrition and its impact on health. Nutrition is being perceived as a preventive means to combat current health concerns.

Taking organic supplements to fill the nutritional gaps in a consumer’s diet is the popular trend. More Americans are finding a new-found freedom in choosing their own health supplements to meet their specific health needs. This trend shows in the statistics:

Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) in Harleysville, Pennsylvania reported that the US Health and Wellness industry rose by 15% in 2007, reaching a record breaking $1 billion.

Functional and fortified foods sold the most, representing 1/3 of the total industry sales. Organic and natural care products rose by 29% over the last year.

NMI reports that the most popular supplements used in 2007 were:

Multivitamins

Calcium

Vitamin C

Fish oil

Vitamin E

Antioxidants

Vitamin B and B complex

Omega 3s

Even organic pet supplements are showing significant growth!

According to as assessment by Packaged Foods in their article: Functional, Fortified and Inherently Healthy Foods and Beverages: The U.S. Phood Market, the key demands in nutraceuticals in the next few years will be:

Glucosamine

Probiotics

Sterol esters

Whey protein

Omega-3 fatty acids

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)

By 2012 the projected sales in the US Health and Wellness market are expected to reach $170 billion!

Organic Manufacturing
Although organic supplements are more expensive than their synthetic counterparts, consumers are still willing to pay more for organic supplements to avoid chemicals, preservatives, insecticides. Organic supplements are perceived as giving more health value and worth the extra cost.

Organic supplements need to be certified by businesses or state agencies approved by the United States Department of Agriculture. This certification includes a physical inspection of the manufacturing area and its processes, as well as an audit of the paperwork dealing with sourcing of raw materials and adhering to strict standards of production. A label certifying an organic supplement has been certified to be organic by an approved authority will lend credibility to any organic health supplement. The certification of organic supplements reassures the consumer of a quality product that has high health value.

Organic: The Healthier Lifestyle
Organic is seen as a healthier lifestyle. In spite of a global economic crisis and rising food prices, the organic food industry continues to expand worldwide, with more global hectares dedicated to organic farming.

Investor Ideas which studied the health trend towards organic reported in April 2008: “The need for health awareness is a growing concern for North Americans. As consumers learn the health risks of consuming preservatives and ‘trans fats’ through packaged foods; organic seems to be the way to go for a healthy lifestyle.”

The organic lifestyle is here to stay. It is already a big thing and the industry is poised for even bigger things ahead. Increasing consumer interest in organic supplements will lead to more demand. The demand for newer products for specialized health needs is never ending. Not all synthetic supplements have their counterparts in organic supplements. Consumers are looking for more innovative organic supplements to fill the nutrition gap and provide wholesome nutrition for health protection. Organic options in health supplements are still a very wide open market. Organic supplement manufacturing has still to reach its peak.

Most of us want to get or stay healthy. It only makes sense in a world of ever-increasing medical bills. Barring disaster, the healthier you are, the less money you spend on needles, cold stethoscopes, colder probes in places you don’t want probed and huge pills that say “must take with food.” So, why wouldn’t you want to make organic energy bars part of this?

You exercise, and you do your best to get the right mix of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein. You try and stay hydrated without dumping a lot of sugar into your body, all the things we’re supposed to do to be fit and strong. But sometimes there isn’t time to sit down to a balanced meal, or you need an extra boost before or after exercising – or to keep you awake through that next interminable meeting.

When you’re looking for extra energy, do you want something made up primarily of words you don’t understand – and the ones you do, like carbonate, make you a little nervous? Or, do you want something made from actual food with ingredients you can pronounce?

We get exposed to a lot of chemicals on a daily basis and there’s increasing evidence that we’re taking them in from sources we didn’t even imagine. It seems like everything around us is made from something that may or may not be healthy for us. What’s worse, it all seems to shed layers, like cats shed hairs; and, try as we might, we’re ingesting some of these unpronounceable molecules.

Do we need to deliberately take in even more? When there’s a healthy, organic, whole food alternative for strength and energy, why should we? Not to mention that studies seem to indicate our bodies process the natural stuff better than the chemical. The organic energy bars just seem to make more sense.

For More Details Visit: http://www.getprograde.com

Your sweet and cuddly puppy can grow up to be strong and healthy, if you choose organic puppy food for it. Ensuring that your puppy eats right is your responsibility and because you love it, you must choose the best. You might be wondering what makes organic food, ‘the best’ for your puppy. In that case you surely need to read further.

You should understand that a puppy’s need for food is very different from that of an adult dog. The two reasons behind this are:

This is your puppy’s formative period. So, you simply cannot feed it anything and everything. Just as a human baby is selectively fed during infancy, you need to do the same for your puppy. The digestive capacity of the puppy is not yet fully developed. So, it might not be tolerant towards every type of commercial dog food.

The problem with most commercially available brands of puppy food is their content. To increase their profitability, most manufacturers use animal by-products as the main component instead of meat. It has been proven that animal by-products are not suitable for human consumption. So, how they can be right for your puppy?

There is also the threat of chemicals such as artificial flavors and preservatives in ordinary puppy food. Unless specifically mentioned on the package, you can even find traces of pesticides and herbicides in non-organic puppy food!

Organic puppy food, on the other hand, guarantees the absence of toxins and animal by-products. So, you can be really sure that your puppy is eating healthy food and getting a daily dose of proteins and vitamins. Organic food is easy to digest and contains chicken, fish, eggs and vegetables such as carrots, spinach, celery and garlic. The better brands even contain pro-biotic elements, which aid digestion.

So, go for organic puppy food because your puppy deserves the best!

On Monday, March 30, 2009, BirkDale Medicinals, a leader in alternative canine cancer treatment, officially opened their doors at a new location.  The facility, located at 2543 S. Lapeer Rd will provide Oakland County and the surrounding area with supplements and products, not only for dogs, but also for their owners!  Still an online business also, owner Tom Peters, felt it was time to offer a face to face facility offering healthier alternatives for feeding pets and keeping their owners healthy.

BirkDale Medicinals carries supplements for humans and their pets which can help with immune system function and may aid those with cancer – both human and canine.  BirkDale also produces a grain free pet food called PetMix, a better alternative to commercial dog food.  “Interest in BirkDale PetMix and our supplements online has been outstanding and our following has consistently grown”, states Tom Peters.  Peters, his family and staff hope to be able to reach more people and their pets with this new location.

The facility is to be a “one-stop” place where pet owners can learn not only learn about pet health, diet and nutrition and immune system function and where they can find all-natural, grain-free diets for their pets and supplements for themselves.  Pets, accompanied by their people, are always welcome at BirkDale’s.  “The Pet Treats available here are made of the utmost quality!”, says Genevive, BirkDale’s holistic chef.  “Allow me to treat your pet to the optimum combination of nutrition and taste.  We have a whole line of all natural, organic and grain-free treats.  There are many flavors to choose from!”  Bring your dog in to BirkDale’s and they can choose from yummy flavors like Apple Blueberry, Bacon and Peanut Butter, Cheesy Pleasers, Apple Cheddar Cheese, Ultimate Chicken, Bacon Veggie, Chicken Pot Pie and more—all available for purchase by the pound.  The treats are all made fresh with human grade ingredients which creates a high protein, low fat biscuit great for “between meal” snacks for your furry friend.

A few of the pet food brands that will be available, in addition to BirkDale’s own PetMix, include Orijen, Weruvan and Solid Gold – all grain-free products.  Taste of The Wild will also be stocked for those looking for a high quality pre-packaged dog food at a reasonable price or those who wish to mix a dry food base with PetMix. All of BirkDale’s products and information will still be online at HelpYourDog.net and they will still be taking calls in the office.  Now you can meet the staff at BirkDale’s in person and put a face with the voice you hear on the phone!

Stop in and discover all BirkDale Medicinals has to offer Michigan and their pets.  They’re looking forward to seeing you!

By now, we all know there’s a lot that goes into achieving high organic search engine rankings. In case you’re unfamiliar with the concept of “SEO,” it refers to the art of modifying a web site’s properties in order for that site to appear in the top search engine results on Google, Yahoo, Ask and MSN, for example.

Think of the search engine optimization (SEO) process as a puzzle made up of three distinct types of pieces: code, content, and last but definitely not least, incoming links. You need to put all the pieces together to see results; if you focus too much on one single aspect of SEO, you’ll have a third of the visibility and you’ll still be missing the rest of the pieces.

In this article, I’m going to talk specifically about link building, and how this tactic is a critical component to successful search engine optimization. For those unfamiliar with this tactic, link building is the process by which you get incoming links to a website. Link Building is initiated to get incoming links to a website from other websites. The whole purpose behind link building is to improve the link popularity of a website, or to improve the number of incoming links to a website.

The reason link building is so important to high organic positioning is that all the major search engines use link related variables in their ranking algorithms, the complex equations that evaluate a site on a myriad of factors and then use this data to determine which sites appear where on the results pages.

So what incoming link related variables do the search engine algorithms consider?

– Number of Links

- Links Must Present Value to Users

Confused? Let me explain. Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Ask all consider the number, quality, and relevance of incoming links to your site when determining its rank. (Incoming links are those links that point to your web site). Google has a system called PageRank, and the other engines operate within similar frameworks. Google has stated, “PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page’s value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves ‘important’ weigh more heavily and help to make other pages ‘important.’”

Thus, the sites with the most links, or votes, must naturally be the best pages for the information being searched for. Think of it as a digital form of never-ending natural selection; the sites with the best content are linked to more often, boosting their search engine positioning, which in turn, makes them more visible to searchers who will continue linking to them more often.

So, two sites that are both about web design are differentiated by the number of incoming links they’ve obtained. If site A has 135 incoming links, and site B only has three, site A will dominate site B in the search engine results. Yet not every link helps. Click here to read about link building strategies to avoid.

As you’ve read, links are an important aspect of SEO. But not just any links. In fact, the wrong links can hurt you, badly. At this point, I’ll now turn my attention to the quality and relevance of these links, in the process explaining why not every link is a good one, and how some can do far more harm than good.

As mentioned earlier, your links need to be from quality sites that share some degree of relevancy with yours. The major engines are all conscious of the origin of these links, and lately, they’ve been known to penalize sites that build massive networks of irrelevant links. This penalization stems from something known as link farms, which were created in the late 1990s for SEO purposes. Link farms would sell links to sites, but none of these links presented any real value to users. Now the major engines evaluate a site not only the number of links, but the quality, relevance and origin of these links. For example, a site supporting content about garages would be a great linking opportunity for a auto parts site, while a cat food site would most likely incur a penalty.

Lastly, the anchor text of your incoming links needs to be optimized in order for the search engines to know what kind of site this link directs a user to. Anchor text is the colored or underlined text that indicates the existence of a link.

For example, if you own a Japanese sushi restaurant in Denver, you don’t want links that point to your site to say something vague like “Denver restaurant.” While this is true, it won’t help you get ranked for the keyphrase you want to be ranked for.

Instead, have your links’ anchor text say “Japanese Cuisine and Sushi Restaurant in Denver.” Not only is this more specific and better for users, it allows the search engines to better determine the relationship between the content of your site and the links that point to it. After all, the strength of this relationship is surely one of the most important factors in achieving high organic positioning. For a more detailed explanation of link building and anchor text within links, click here.

So now that you know what kind of links you need to acquire to achieve high organic search positioning, where do you start? Unfortunately, that’s a topic for another blog, but if you click here you can see how to acquire the links that will make a difference.

On a final note, remember to follow the philosophy of utility when conducting any link building campaign: Present users with links that connect them to useful, relevant information, and the search engines will reward you with high organic rankings.

What kind of food are you feeding to your dog? Do you remember the olden days when we fed our dogs table scraps? Nowadays most people believe it is a bad thing to feed your dog food from the table. Many now believe that this idea was originally encouraged by the makers of commercial dog food, as a way to sell more of their canned and dried pet food.

Lately, especially after the pet food scare of early 2008, when hundreds of cats and dogs died after eating pet food tainted with poison, more and more people have returned to feeding their dogs more foods eaten by humans.

If your dog has special dietary needs, such as being diabetic or obese, the commercial dog foods simply do not offer good choices that are healthy and nutritious and meet the needs of your dog. They tend to be filled with ingredients that are not healthy at all, and also have many preservatives to extend their shelf life. We do not know for sure where the ingredients have come from because the government does not regulate packaged and canned pet food as it does food for human consumption. This alone is a powerful reason to stay away from commercial dog food.

I have been feeding my dogs homemade food for four months now. My dachshund is diabetic, so I was searching for a way to give him a diet higher in fiber and protein. I have now come to the conclusion that it is best to prepare his food myself. I also have three other dogs, a Maltese and two Yorkshire terriers, and they were beginning to put on weight and had become very hyperactive. After eating my homemade food for the past few months their behavior has changed, their weight has stabilized, and my dachshund has not had to have an increase in his daily insulin dosage. I am also saving money at the same time.

I prepare chicken by boiling or baking it, and then combine yams or sweet potatoes. These vegetables have a low glycemic index and are particularly good for diabetes. I also prepare lentil soup each week, and add this to the food as well. Legumes, like lentils and other dried beans, are high in plant protein. Finally, I prepare long grain brown rice, and my homemade food is complete. I only do this once a week, so it is not like I have to prepare my dog food every day.

I encourage you to learn more about preparing healthy and nutritious food for your dog, to reduce the risk of disease and help to extend their lifespan.

Over the last few years, organic food for dogs has become increasing popular. Still the questions arise if it is worth spending the few extra dollars for the product. Obviously, those who believe in organic dog food would say yes. Others would say it doesn’t matter. Here we will take a closer look at the benefits of organic food for dogs.

Health and Energy Level of Your Dog –

All dog food will provide your dog with basic nutrition. However, organic dog food will make your dog feel better because of what it does not have. With no pesticides and no herbicides, your dog will not have to rid its body of toxins. This means your dog does not have to do so much work to get the nutrition from the food.

Lower Chance of Allergies and Skin Problems –

Unfortunately, too many dogs deal with allergies. Whether the allergies are dog food related or not, allergies are a problem with lots of dogs. This means that many dogs are taking additional medicines that they just shouldn’t have to take.

With no flavor enhancers, artificial colors and chemicals, there is nothing in organic dog food to be allergic to. Many dogs who are allergic to dog food will find they have no problems with organic dog food. The mysterious dog food allergies clear up fast when dogs are switched to organic food!  Now, your dog not only gets great nutrition but also no longer has to fight allergies.

Digestion Problems Disappear –

Does your dog have digestion issues? Dogs that eat organic tend to have fewer problems digesting their food. Organic food is just easier to digest because it is made to eat. All natural proteins, grains and no artificial ingredients make for good food that is easy to digest. Diarrhea should become a thing of the past on an organic diet. If it does continue, consult your vet.

Longer Healthier Life –

When dogs do not consume pesticides and herbicides, they tend to live a lot longer. This makes sense to many people. When people eat what they are supposed to eat and do what they are supposed to do, people live longer and happier lives. This only makes sense in the animal world as well. When dogs eat food that is organic and not full of toxic chemicals, they will live a healthier life that will in turn be longer.

The benefits of organic food for dogs are obvious. The choice is yours. You can choose to feed your dog a healthy diet of organic dog food. If you do, your dog will thank you for it.