News
Transitioning Your Dog to Adult Food
Between the chewed-up toys and puppy breath, your puppy turns into an adult dog in the blink of an eye. Gone are the days filled with housetraining and puppy play. Now, days revolve around the dog park and long walks. Alongside a change in activity, a change in diet is necessary to keep them adventurous and healthy. How do you decide when it’s right to make the transition, and what’s the best plan of action? Here are a few things to consider. When Your Dog Should Switch When your pup has fully grown, you can begin the transition into adult...
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Spring Pasture Time for Horses
Spring is an eagerly anticipated time for horse owners as it brings the opportunity to introduce their horses to lush, growing pastures. However, it is crucial to approach this transition with caution. Introducing horses to pasture too early in the season or allowing them to graze for extended periods can have negative consequences for both the pasture and the horses’ well-being Allowing Adequate Grass Recovery To ensure the health of the pasture and the horses, it is important not to turn them out too early. After enduring the stresses of winter, the grass needs time to recover. Ideally, the grass...
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Spring Allergies in Pets
April showers, bring May flowers. Most of us are familiar with this saying. But April showers also bring pollen and mold, and for those with allergies that means runny noses, puffy eyes, sinus pain, sneezing and headaches. For our pets, allergies can also be problematic. While their exposure can be from inhaled molds and pollens (allergens), pets absorb many of their allergens through their skin. The process of absorbed allergens to allergy response and symptoms is a complex one. Inhalant allergies, also called atopy, is a genetic tendency to have a heightened immune response to common, usually harmless, allergens. The...
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Feeding and Managing Pregnant Mares: Prenatal Nutrition
Many broodmares are in the last half of gestation at this time. The latter part of gestation is one of the most important development periods in the life of a foal when the foal is developing in the uterus of the mare. The importance of this period was recognized in the Nutrient Requirements of Horses, Sixth Edition, when the Committee established that the nutrient requirements of the mare start increasing at the 6th month of gestation, earlier than previously believed. During the last three months of gestation, the foal may be gaining an average of one pound per day. The...
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Puppy Socialization – Getting Started
Socialization is the process of preparing a puppy to be comfortable with interactions with people, other dogs, other species and the outside world. Ideally this should take place during the sensitive period between 3 and 14 weeks of age. This is the period when puppies benefit most from exposure to new or strange stimuli and they show a willingness to explore and play with little fear when encountering new people, animals, objects and experiences. Puppies deprived of these experiences will have a significantly increased risk of developing into adults with fear, aggression and arousal issues. The idea being to stop...