Looking for a unique gift for your dog lover friend or relative? How about a
gift certificate for a canine massage? Margaret Auld-Louie recently completed
her studies at the Lang Institute for Canine Massage and is now offering canine
massage sessions for dogs. For more details and to purchase a gift certificate,
see http://www.optimumchoices.com/dog_massage.htm.
Discount canine massage sessions will be available on Saturday, December 13th
from noon to 5 pm at Footopia,
611-22nd St., Denver, CO. For more info, call us at (303) 271-1649 or
click here.
Essential oils make a unique gift for a friend or relative who enjoys
scented products and may be interested in their therapeutic benefits. Rather
than trying to decide which of many oils would be appropriate, we suggest buying
a kit such as the Essential 7 Kit from Young Living Essential Oils that contains
some of the most commonly used oils.
The Essential 7 Kit contains three single oils: Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia),
lemon (Citrus limon), peppermint (Mentha piperita), and four blends: Joy,
PanAway, Peace & Calming, and Purification. As you become acquainted with Young
Living's large selection of essential oils and related products, it can be
difficult to know where to begin. The Essential 7 kit was created so that anyone
could immediately use and appreciate the benefits of therapeutic-grade essential
oils. These oils may be used by diffusing, applied to the Vita Flex points on
the feet, added to bathwater, applied on location, or used with body and foot
massage. Some may be used as dietary supplements. Refer to the individual oils
for specific benefits and instructions. [Contains Seven 5 ml. bottles.]
If you would like a free copy of our "101 Uses for the Essential 7 Kit"
paper in Microsoft Word format, just contact us and mention our free December
Optimum Connections newsletter offer. Call (303) 271-1649 or toll-free (866)
305-2306 or
e-mail us. This paper includes tips to prevent motion sickness, stop a
nosebleed, deodorize laundry, sterilize counter tops, clean fruits & vegetables,
relieve heartburn & indigestion, curb appetite, restful sleep and many more
everyday hints on using essential oils.
Another kit that makes a wonderful gift is the Feelings Kit. It contains twelve
blends: Forgiveness, Grounding, Harmony, Hope, Inner Child, Joy, Present Time,
Release, SARA, 3 Wise Men, Valor and White Angelica.
The emotions are the most elusive part of the human body. Research has only
begun to delve into the subconscious mind and to discover how emotions affect
every aspect of our lives. The ancient Egyptians believed that if they did not
clear the body and mind of negative influences before dying, they could not
progress into the next life and return to this world to enter back into the body
they had left in the tomb. In order to progress into the spirit realm, they had
to seek the favor of their gods by going through a cleansing ritual with the
oils.
Many people find that they are unable to progress in life and achieve
sought-after goals and dreams due to the trauma of emotional and physical abuse.
These deep-seated emotional issues may undermine one's success, future, and
life. This is why the new avenues for coping with and clearing negative emotions
are helpful.
The 12 oil formulas included in the Feelings Kit were created based on extensive
research into ancient Egyptian ritual clearing. During the three years it has
been available, this kit has enabled numerous people to be liberated from
emotional bondage and face life with new-found purpose, optimism and joy.
There are several other kits available as well from Young Living Essential
Oils. These are just two of our favorites. To purchase these kits online, go to
http://oc-yleo.younglivingworld.com and click on "Product Catalog" on the
left and then choose Kits, Essential Oils from the menu bar.
It's the time of year when we are shopping for delicious goodies for both our
two-legged and four-legged friends and family. If your four-legged friends (dogs
and cats) are on a healthy raw diet recommended by your holistic vet, does this
mean you can't give them any treats? Not at all, but you need to shop carefully
so you don't ruin their good diet by giving them treats full of grains or
additives like propylene glycol, sugar and food colorings.
In general, treats that are meat-based rather than grain-based are much
healthier for our dogs and cats. Most of the dog "cookies" people use for treats
are wheat-based, which is not a healthy choice for a carnivore. Make sure to
read the labels of all treats you buy no matter where you shop—I have found
treats with wheat, sugar, corn syrup and even propylene glycol at holistic pet
stores. Following are some of the treats we have found that we like to use with
our animals:
Nature's Variety Prairie Freeze-Dried Raw Meat Patties
This is our number-one
training treat for our dog as it contains 95% meat, organ
and bone. These are intended to be
served as meals but our trainer clued us in to using these patties for training
treats. We break them into pieces and put them in a treat bag. Our dog doesn't
like the chicken flavor but she goes nuts over the lamb flavor. She'll do any
trick for a piece of lamb patty. We feel good knowing we're still feeding her a
complete, balanced diet of raw food when we give her these treats. Since she is
tiny and easy to overfeed, we make sure to cut back on her meals if we are
feeding her a lot of these treats, such as when we take her to agility class.
While not raw, these chips contain only pure bovine cartilage, a natural
source of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, especially beneficial for older
dogs with arthritis. Since these are a whole food rather than a supplement, it's
safe to feed them to all dogs, even younger ones. We feed them to our 3-year old
Chihuahua mix dog, who loves them. If you can't find these treats at your local
pet store, you can order them online here:
http://www.optimumchoices.com/chondro_chips.htm.
Kitty Kaviar
Available in many specialty pet stores, this treat consists of dried fish
shaved into extremely thin pieces. The only ingredient is fish and the thinness
means that the amount of actual food and calories fed to our cat is minimal. Our
finicky elderly cat goes nuts over Kitty Kaviar and tries to grab the pieces out
of our hands with her paw. For more info, see:
http://www.kittykaviar.com.
Freeze-dried liver cubes
We found these training treats at Petsmart and you can probably find this in
various brands at most large pet stores. Since the only ingredient is liver,
that makes this a fairly healthy treat when used in moderation. It's best not to
use this on a daily basis since liver is high in Vitamins A and D, as well as
not being raw and organic. Both our dog and cat love this treat.
Anti-Allergenic Liver Biscotti treats
We like the Anti-Allergenic version of Liver Biscotti, a delicious wheat-free
baked treat for dogs. While not grain-free, the first ingredient is meat and it
contains no corn, wheat, dairy, kelp, soy, eggs, animal by-products, or
preservatives. The ingredients are beef liver, oat and barley flour, water,
carrots, applesauce, canola oil, garlic, parsley, sodium acid pyrophosphate
(baking soda), sodium bicarbonate, and potato starch. Our dog is not too fond of
typical, hard dog biscuits but she loves these treats, which are light and
crunchy. If you can't find these treats at your local pet store, you can buy
them online at
SitStay.com. For more info, go to
http://www.liverbiscotti.com.
Switching
to Raw: A Fresh Food Diet for Dogs that Makes Sense
by Susan K. Johnson
For those of you who may find the wealth of information in some raw food diet
books overwhelming (like last month's pick, Raw Meaty Bones), here is a simple,
short book that explains how to easily create a raw diet for your dog.
The author states: "I wanted to provide a simple book to help people make the
change to a raw diet and also provide breeders who raise their litters on fresh
foods with an easy guide for their puppy buyers to take home and follow. There
is nothing complicated about feeding your new puppy or adult dog a raw diet.
There are many wonderful books available that teach about raw diets - some are
very detailed and are great resources for those of us who are interested in all
of the scientific nutritional information, but not all provide the diet
information itself in a brief, easy to follow format. I hope this book will help
to fill that gap." We feel this book does feel that gap and is a valuable
resource on how to create a healthy raw diet for dogs.
This book is only available directly from the author, unless you find a pet
store that carries copies of it. To order, go to
http://www.switchingtoraw.com/order.html.
Nothing on this website has been evaluated by the FDA. This information
is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Please
see a qualified healthcare practitioner for any disease or illness.
