DOG OF THE MONTH (MAY)

Chloe is a 2 year old Bullmastiff. She is a bit of a shy girl with some people and some other dogs but watch out when she gets together with her best buds here at Ruffhouse!!!!!! Chloe can really play hard with her friends Kodiak, Jewelz, Bella and Diesel!!!! She can definitely make us laugh as well....like the time there was some gardening going on outside and Chloe came inside with a bowl stuck on top of her head!!!! But when she has played hard all morning, nothing is more appealing to her than a cuddle in the Hound's Lounge with the staff!! We love you Chloe!!

APRIL DOG OF THE MONTH

Miss Maya is a 2 and a half year old lab who has been with us here at Ruffhouse since we opened! She is the sweetest, most laid back lab you will ever meet!! Maya usually just likes to lie around and watch the goings on around her and maybe get some scruffs and cuddles from us!! When she does feel like playing though she can go!!!! No other dog could defeat her in a game of tug-rope!! Of course like most labs, she loves her ball, especially when there's water involved (as you can see in the featured pic!)!! Maya has an ongoing love affair with our resident English Mastiff, Angus. She has to stop for some kisses with Angus each morning on her way in and then frequently throughout the day as well! Love ya Maya!!

Dog Nutrition

How many of you, when buying dog food actually take the time to read the ingredients list? If you do read the ingredients, do you have a full understanding? Do you think that because a certain food is a little more expensive, it must be healthier??


_By law, ingredients are listed from the largest amount to the least amount contained in the bag.
_85% of the ingredients in a bag of food are the first four ingredients
_The difference between 'meat' and 'meat meal' is that the 'meat meal' is the quantity of meat actually used in the food after it is skinned and deboned. 'Meat' is the amount measured before deboning and skinning.
_'Beet pulp' is added to food for proper stool formation
_Chicken fat is the most absorbable form of fat for dog's digestion
_The highest protein sources, in order, are fish, chicken, pork, lamb and beef
_If a dog has a sensitive stomach, Lamb & Rice formulas are the least upsetting
_Dogs are not generally allergic to a protein source until it has been introduced to them
_Grain free foods are often very high in proteins, which causes them to be extremely rich and hard for most dogs to digest properly
_Raw food diets are best for dogs
_Approximately 75% of canned dog food's content is water
_Cooked bones are a danger to dogs as they will splinter. Raw are best (boil briefly to kill bacteria)
_Chocolate is poisonous to all dogs - carob is a safe alternative
_Do not feed your dog onions, raisins, grapes or macadamia nuts. They can all cause illness or fatality
_A lot of dogs are lactose intolerant, however plain unsweetened yogurt is safe and beneficial to their immune systems
_Salmon or flax seed oils added to dog's food can help skin and coats from drying out

MARCH DOG OF THE MONTH

They say "big things come in small packages". Well this saying definitely applies to our Bandit. Bandit is a little 2 year old Boston Terrier with a big heart and a big attitude! He loves his cuddle time!! If you are sitting on the floor or in a chair , you may have Bandit pop up onto your lap anytime without warning!! He may be little but he loves to run with the big dogs and can certainly hold his own! Bandit's favorite playcare activities are tugrope (usually with the big dogs!), and playing with bubbles! He just goes crazy after those bubbles! Bandit loves everyone and everyone loves Bandit!!

INTERNATIONAL ANIMAL RESCUE

Wow it's been busy here at Ruffhouse! We have welcomed several new dogs into our family! Now that some dust has settled we have time for another blog!

Well, we got into another discussion regarding animal rescue. This time though it was about whether or not rescues should be bringing dogs in from other countries. As with the last blog topic, this one brought about much debate as well. Some of us seem to think that there are so many homeless animals in danger of losing their lives 'in the wild' or through euthanization, in our own backyards! Should we really be bringing more in from out of the country; taking the fostering and adoptive places away from our native animals???? On the flip side, alot of the countries that these animals are taken from don't share the same view of animals as we do here in Canada. As well they do not have the same resources available to them to help their animals.. Is helping animals in other countries any different than our government sending aid to other countries in times of disaster? We are sure some people would say it is totally different! In that instance it is tax dollars being sent. When animals are helped it is through the aid and donations of the animal lovers. We want to hear other peoples opinions regarding this topic so please feel free to comment!!

DOG BREEDING

   Some of us at Ruffhouse recently participated in a discussion about dog breeding. In the end we agreed to disagree. That got us to thinking this same topic would make for great blogging!  In our discussions we threw around whether or not backyard breeding should be banned. Some opinions held that breeding should be banned altogether, whether it be backyard or registered breeding. Maybe registered breeding is okay?? Wouldn't  dogs become extinct if we outlawed breeding altogether? How could they become extinct when hundreds of thousands are euthanized each year because they are homeless? Anyone visited a reservation lately? Isn't it difficult to find a purebred dog unless you use a breeder? With all the backyard breeding and pet store dogs from puppy mills, don't you get into alot of health problems where a registered breeder would be more experienced and knowledable?
   These are some of the questions that got tossed around in our discussion. We would love to hear other peoples' opinions on this topic!!!

DOG OF THE MONTH

Miss Bella is our "Dog of The Month" for February! Bella is a black Husky/Collie X (pictured here with her boyfriend , Kodiak). Bella will be 2 years old on May 26th of this year. We just love her so much! She is definately 'miss social butterfly'. Bella plays wonderfully with those who would otherwise be total grumps! She as well has a tendency to bring the introverted dogs out of their shells until they are playing with her too!! She is just an all around happy gal who LOVES the outdoors! It is rare to see her napping at playcare!! Oh and Bella is also known as Bella Boo at home with her mom and dad!