Got Buttermilk?

The most frequent memory of my fathers' mother is that of her churning butter, and the sweet/sour creaminess of the leftover buttermilk.
Buttermilk today is most often made with bacterial cultures and skim milk, making it a good substitute for yogurt and it has been a staple in my dogs' diets for years.
I once attended a long dog show circuit where Parvo was rampant. At that time, the vaccine had not been brought to market and there was little we could do to protect our dogs from this devastating man made disease.
My vet, Mark Ingram D.V.M. (recently named best Holistic Veterinarian by an area pet magazine) had told me that the disease could not take hold if the friendly bacteria count in the intestinal tract was high. We had traveled up to the Ravenna dog shows and were outdoors where I hoped the fresh air would make it less likely that the disease would spread, but it was not to be. For some of my friends and competitors, the ride back south took days and days because of stopovers for emergency fluids and treatments for Parvo.
Some of those dogs never made it home. It was a heartbreaking time, I recall spending hours on the phone offering condolences and entries at the shows dropped dramatically for fear of contracting Parvo. My own dogs and those I showed remained safe and I attribute that to buttermilk. At the shows, I would give small drinks of buttermilk all day long, mixed with slippery elm tree bark powder, it was a cooling pick me up for the dogs on a long hot circuit. And the dogs came home as healthy as they left.

I still give buttermilk daily as it helps balance the bodys' ph and adds beneficial bacteria. Buttermilk is more than an ingredient in ranch dressing and corn bread, it is an inexpensive way to enhance your dogs health. As you can see, Puff really loves his morning bowl of buttermilk!

Flavored Freezer Pops for Pups

When we traveled extensively in summer to dog shows we often took this summer treat along to help cool off the dogs. Souxsie, pictured above, especially liked them. With the weather turning really hot now I thought I would share this with you....
Using low sodium or preferably, sodium free chicken broth,diluted way down with water or unflavored Pedialyte, pour into an old fashioned ice cube tray and freeze until ready to give to your dog.
That's it,really simple, and really fun for your dog on a hot summer day. I only give one cube at a time.
If you are not sure how much to dilute the chicken broth, remember that chicken broth is very rich and can cause some dogs to have a runny stool. For a large dog I use a teaspoon per cube but you will need to use your best judgement as you know what your dog can tolerate. Your dog will still know the chicken broth is in the cube as dogs can smell down to one part per 700 billion. Turkey or beef broth, even lamb, can be substituted. Just be sure you are not giving them a heavily salted broth. And no MSG!
Pedialyte, if you choose to use it, is wonderful for restoring electrolytes lost in the stress of summer heat. (With your vets' APPROVAL, it is also great for dogs waking up from anesthesia, or an illness like parvo when they have trouble keeping water down).
Dogs seem to enjoy chasing the ice cube around their bowl and the cost of course, is mere pennies...