“Eat your veggies” is a commonly uttered phrase at the dinner table, but is it one you should be uttering to your dog? As you know, our Beef & Vegetables, Chicken & Vegetables, and Turkey & Vegetables dog foods wouldn’t be the same without the vegetables. We use cooked carrots, green beans, and sweet potatoes in each of our wholesome and delicious dog food flavors. Today, we want to focus on carrots.

You and I know carrots as tasty orange root vegetables that are delicious and slightly sweet when raw or cooked. If your dog has a hankering for carrots too, there’s good news! Carrots safe for our furry friends and even offer a number of nutritional benefits, including: 

• Plenty of Vitamin A. Vitamin A is the nutrient in carrots that helps maintain our vision, and it offers the same benefits to dogs! Furthermore, vitamin A is essential for your dog’s skin, coat, muscles, and nerves, according to the National Animal Supplement Council. If your dog has a vitamin A deficiency, they note, they may become night blind, and/or have deteriorating quality of skin and coat. 

• Lots of potassium. Potassium is essential for maintaining a lot of your dog’s organ functions, including the heart, the kidneys, and the muscles. A dog lacking potassium in its diet may experience stomach issues, muscle cramps, irregular heartbeat, and general weakness and lack of energy.

• Nutritional fiber. Fiber isn’t the most exciting nutrient to talk about, but we all know how important it is. Fiber helps keep your dog’s digestive system working smoothly, helping to prevent constipation and diarrhea. Keeping our dogs safe and comfortable is our top priority. Including fiber with an ingredient like carrots is a much healthier option than the “cellulose” you may see in commercial dog foods. Often, this ingredient is made from shredded paper. 

We include responsibly-sourced carrots in our human-grade dog food as a great source of vitamin A, potassium, and fiber for your dog. We want you and your dog to live long, healthy lives together. For more healthy tips for you and your dog, be sure to follow us on Instagram. Shop for dog food, treats, and bone broth!

The last few months have been unprecedented, to say the least. Everyone’s top priority is health and safety as we attempt to navigate the world in the midst of a pandemic. In response, Florida government officials introduced a stay-at-home order and many businesses closed temporarily. Pet food stores were listed as essential by Governor DeSantis, but still, many people preferred to stay in the safety of their homes to isolate themselves from potential infection.

During this chaotic time, Pawsitively Pure has remained dedicated to providing good nutrition for dogs all around the country. We continue to offer free doorstep delivery to dog moms and dads in Florida so that you can give your dogs the best of the best while still maintaining your health and safety.

Online shopping has been a great tool for people who wish to keep their distance for health reasons. Carole at Pawsitively Pure has her online shelves fully stocked and ready to send food, treats, and bone broth to happy, healthy dogs when they need them. We also participate in the weekly Orlando Makers Online market, where wonderful vendors from around Orlando offer their wares in a safe setting. 

We can’t wait until our favorite farmers’ markets and events can reopen safely for everyone, but until then, we want you to stay safe and healthy! Take your dog for lots of walks and enjoy some sunshine together in the back yard. When you need food, treats, or bone broth for your dogs, click here to visit Pawsitively Pure Dog Food’s online shop.

Once again, we’re starting to feel the heat of a true Florida Summer! If you’re anything like us, you’ve been spending a lot of time over the last few months taking your dog on long hikes and trail walks to pass the time in quarantine. Walking is wonderful physical and mental exercise for both you and your dog. Now that the temperatures are rising, however, you’ll need to take extra care to keep your dog’s paws safe and comfortable during your journeys.

Unfortunately, some pet owners may be oblivious to the fact that summertime walking surfaces can get too hot for your dog’s comfort. Luckily for them, we have this handy list of tips to protect those precious paws: 

• Do the 10-second check. As a rule of thumb, if the sidewalk or pavement is too hot for you to keep your hand on it for 10 seconds, it’s too hot for your dog to walk on. Often, we don’t recognize how hot the sidewalk is on a summer day since our feet are protected by shoes. When you get down to your dog’s height, you can get a better gauge on how comfortable and safe the surface is.

• Avoid asphalt, tarmac, and similar surfaces at all costs. If you think the sidewalk is hot, there’s a very good chance that the road is scorching! Dark surfaces absorb much more heat than light surfaces, so during the summer, tarmac and asphalt are no-gos. Letting your dog walk on surfaces that are too hot can cause blisters and sores that make it uncomfortable to walk and even dangerous for your dog’s health.

• Try to find wooded or shaded areas during the hottest months. Going off road is always helpful, and you’ll probably have a lot of fun discovering a new trail. Dirt paths will be softer to the touch than concrete surfaces. Just keep an eye out for biting insects and sharp hitchhikers that may get lodged in your dog’s paws.

• Protect their paw pads with soothing paw balm. Many dog parents use our paw balm for wintertime use, but it’s just as handy in the summer. After your walk, you can smooth some paw balm on their paw pads and between the toes to moisturize, soothe, and protect. Our dogs love getting paw balm after their baths. It’s packed with organic ingredients that help to kill harmful bacteria and keep paws soft!

We love spending time with our dogs, and we’re sure you do too! If you’re spending lots of extra time with your dog, be sure to keep their paw pads safe and comfortable so that you can continue to go on adventures all summer long. To learn more about our organic paw balm for dogs and other great pet products, browse our website.

For dogs and humans alike, nutrition is one topic that continuously evolves and changes. No doubt you’ve heard of at least four or five new fad diets over the last year. The low-fat diets of the 1980s shifted to the low-carb diets of the 2000s. One minute, grains are the largest portion of the food pyramid; the next, we’re cautioned to limit our wheat and grain intakes. Similarly, popular dog diets go through phases. Should you look for the grain-free dog food? The raw diet? Which type of food is best for your dog and for the community at large?

If you know our story, you know that wholesome, nutritious, human-grade ingredients are at the heart of our mission. Like so many other pet parents around the world, we got fed up with recall after recall of commercial pet foods and decided to take our dogs’ nutrition into our own hands. Since then, we’ve noticed a significant improvement in our dogs’ skin and coats, their energy levels, and the clarity of their eyes and ears. But for us, the human-grade food movement is about so much more than that. We think it’s the best option for the community at large for a number of reasons. 

No two dogs are the same, and neither are their dietary needs

Your dog is so unique! What other dog barks the way they do, gets the zoomies the way they do, or tumbles into playtime like they do? Your dog is an individual, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. Just as their personalities are unique, their body chemistry is their own, meaning they may react differently to different ingredients in food. Cookie-cutter diets just won’t cut it anymore.

Since we switched to whole foods for our dogs, we’ve found that it’s easier to include dietary supplements and minerals with their unique food blends. For a rundown of our favorite Mercola supplements, check out our blog. We work with our dogs’ vets to make sure they’re getting all the nutrients they need to improve their quality of life. 

Responsible sourcing is good for the environment

For our food and treats, we choose wholesome ingredients from responsible sources. Not only does this help us make sure we know exactly what’s going in our dogs’ tummies, but it also means we’re relying on ethical food producers whose methods benefit the environment. Without a healthy planet, we won’t have anywhere to let our dogs run and play! We think that environmental protection should be a cause for companies of any size and industry.

A healthy diet is a preventive measure

So much of your dog’s health relies on their diet. Obesity in dogs can cause joint pain, heart illnesses, low energy, and diabetes. On the other hand, unappetizing food can leave your dog underweight, bored, and tired. Your dog’s quality of life is based largely on their nutrition. Think about it: we use food and treats as training rewards, and we often share our mealtimes together.

Providing your dog with the right diet helps give them the energy they need to stay active and to properly metabolize food and treats. It also helps stave off diseases like arthritis and heart disease. In short, a healthy diet is pretty darn important.

How to get started with human-grade dog food

We always recommend speaking to your veterinarian before you make major changes to your dog’s diet. They can offer you insightful tips on transitioning and on which supplements to add to their bowl. Once you have your recommendations, find Pawsitively Pure dog food at www.pawsitivelypuredogfood.com/shop or stop by one of our upcoming markets to ask us any questions you may have.

Your dog’s paws go through a lot! While we humans almost always wear shoes to keep our feet protected from the elements, our dogs’ paw pads have to stand up to concrete, dirt, sand, debris, and high temperatures, just to name a few. That’s why it’s so important to keep your dog’s paws clean and healthy - after all, a sore paw or infection will keep them from walking, playing, and doing all the things they love most in life!

That’s why we’ve developed an organic paw balm. We used all-natural ingredients to create a soothing, protective salve that keeps your dog comfortable and ready to go. We included ingredients with some really great benefits: 

• Coconut oil and olive oil: responsibly sourced oils are the main soothing ingredients in our salve. Did you know that coconut oil has been recognized as a natural antibacterial? Rubbing this on your dog’s paws will help keep any cuts and scratches from getting infected while keeping those toes comfy. It’ll help soothe itching and rubbing!!

• Shea butter: you’ve probably seen shea butter listed in some of your lotions and shower gels. It’s a great softening agent for your dogs’ skin, too! It does offer some natural sun protectant properties, and while the bottoms of your dogs’ paws probably aren’t getting a lot of sun exposure, this makes it a great option for irritated elbows and scaly patches. It’s soothing enough that it can help stop biting and scratching of irritated areas!

• Calendula: this is a super helpful medicinal flower, commonly known as the marigold! For centuries, people have turned to calendula to soothe irritation, relieve pain, and reduce inflammation and pain. It’s still proven as an effective healer and protector for dog and human skin alike! It’s great when it comes to promoting wound healing and has been a noted helper for many pet owners. 

Our paw balm is great for dogs that live in any climate! With the winter coming up, your dogs’ feet may be exposed to cold pavement, snow, and salt, depending on where you’re located. Dip their paws in our paw balm before your next walk to keep them comfortable and protected from debris! To learn more, join our Facebook group, Pawsitively Pure Living for Dogs. Join the conversation on healthy, organic living for dogs!