Issue #17

Tips to help your dog cool down. If your dog appears to be overheated, here are some tips to help cool down:

• Get to shade.

• Apply cool (not ice cold) water to inner thighs, stomach, and paws.

• Give small amounts of cool water.

• Avoid cold or ice water, or submerging into a pool - this could be too much of a shock to their bodies.

• Once their panting has calmed down, encourage movement to circulate cool blood and feed a hearty bone broth to quickly help rehydrate. See below ??????

Only 4 more days to get that green gold! Our current box, available until Sunday, July 16th only, has green tripe patties, pork kidney, salmon, duck feet, lamb gullet and beef trachea. Check out the unboxing!

Real Pet Food’s Buck Moon pack hike. Last Sunday, marked our very first #feedreal movement community pack hike! Joined by over 40 participants and dogs, we hiked the Black Mountain trail, here in sunny San Diego, where pups fell in line harmoniously as a pack and as we enjoyed beautiful views of the full moon and a champagne toast at the top! Learn more about building a better bond with your dog & stay up to date on our next full moon hike and other events -- Join the #feedreal movement community group!

Near infrared goggles developed to detect cancer cells in dogs. Recently, a University of Illinois engineer developed high-tech glasses (goggles) that help surgeons visualize cancer cells. The goggles detect radioactive tracers that cause the cancer cells to glow blue. Dr. Laura Selmic and Dr. Viktor Gruev are collaborating on a clinical trial to help detect cancerous cells in lymph nodes, which are an indication that cancer may have spread beyond a tumor found in a dog’s head or neck.

Need to have your dog at your wedding? There’s an app for that. LOL. Well, surely it’s coming soon. Pawfect For You is a full-service chauffeur and pet care provider for couples on their wedding day that provides accommodations such as dressing a pet up in wedding attire, a bath or coordination with a groomer and even ceremony coaching.

A new device to help train sniffer dogs. Dr. Ong, of MIT has invented a type of mass spectrometer, that lets sniffer dog handlers check instantly whether a dog has correctly identified explosive material or not. This could both speed the process of training and, if deployed in the field, permit a suspicious object which a dog has nosed out to be double-checked by technology, and to have its precise explosive characteristics logged instantly.

Marijuana treatment for noise anxiety in dogs. Animal shelters tend to see an increased influx of runaway pets around the two holidays - the 4th of July & New Year’s Eve. To quell dogs’ anxiety to loud noises, many dog owners are giving their pups a squirt of marijuana extract made mostly of cannabidiol (CBD), a component of the cannabis plant that, unlike THC, doesn't induce a high. This definitely isn’t the last time you’ll hear about cannabis-based veterinary products, as the marketplace is rapidly increasing.

Your dog’s disease could be cured by gene therapy. For decades, gene therapy has been envisioned as a way to cure disease by introducing new genetic material into people’s DNA. Successful treatments in humans are moving closer to FDA approval. Dominik Faissler, a veterinary neurologist at Tufts University is studying gene therapy for canine degenerative myelopathy with the goal of eventually helping people. He has so far treated five pet dogs with the disease. Researchers are also using gene therapy to treat dogs with hemophilia, a bleeding disorder in both canines and people that are caused by a genetic mutation.

Want to keep your dog hydrated?? Earlier this week, we made the most amazing bone broth for ourselves and our pup, and many of you asked for the recipe. It takes a tiny bit of work to get everything you need, but the benefits are far too good to pass up. Bone broth is full of minerals and calcium, protects joints, helps maintain a healthy gut and builds a strong immune system. Plus it’s great for rehydrating during these summer days.

Here’s what you need: a pressure cooker or slow cooker; strainer.

Ingredients (dog version):

• 3 lbs of gelatinous bones (feet, femurs, bones with marrow) we used beef bones and 1 hind pig foot (you can also use chicken feet or lamb marrow bones, but whole pig feet work the best).

• Water

• Apple cider vinegar (about 3 tbsp)

• 3 Garlic cloves (optional; safe in small doses and great as mosquito/flea repellant for dogs)

Instructions: Place all bones in a pressure cooker or slow cooker, cover with water and add a splash of apple cider vinegar (to help draw the vitamins and minerals out). Pressure cook for 2 hours or slow cook overnight. Strain the bones and put the broth in fridge. Once it cools, it should be jelly like*, skim off the fat and Voila! You can reuse the bones for a 2nd batch - add water and ACV, and cook for 3 hours in the pressure cooker or 12 hours in the slow cooker.

*Jelly means you’ve got lots of gelatin in there and that’s what helps with your and your dog’s joints. Not so jelly? That’s ok - just add more apple cider vinegar the next time. There are still lots of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that you’ve drawn out of those bones!

Serve at room temperature for your dog and hot for yourself

Human version: Add 1 whole onion (quartered) or 1 bunch of green onion stalks, 1/2 a head of garlic and 1 tsp. of freshly ground black pepper and any other herbs you’d like.