Jeff McFarlane

Throw some darts for D’Arcy’s ARC on April 15

One of the things I love about the pet community is the love we share for our animals. After children, there is nothing we can add to our lives that offers as big a return as pets. They deserve every bit of pampering we give them.

Proper breeding leads to lovable puppies

There’s nothing sweeter and cuter than a puppy. Our social media feeds are certainly brightened up when people post cute pictures of puppies. We all love puppies.

The times they are a-changin’

Like most of our world, the pet industry is changing. Smaller businesses are being gobbled up by multinational corporations, and that might not always help improve the situation.

An ounce of prevention

The best part of my job is getting to meet so many amazing pet owners, and the pets they care for.

Winter reminders for pet-owners

As we head into the deeper parts of the winter, I want to offer just a few reminders about safety with pets.

Your pets are part of your family

I have to give another shout out to the wonderful people involved in animal rescues and those fostering and adopting at need animals.

Should I supplement my pet’s food?

People ask me every day: “Can I add more to my pet’s diet to make them healthier?”

When looking for a pet — adopt don’t shop

I overheard someone the other day saying that he almost brought home two Rottweiler-cross pups.

The simply joy of local dog parks

It was a glorious fall day on the last Saturday of October, perfect weather for a dog park membership drive, barbecue and fundraiser.

Natural foods can supplement vet treatment

One of our worst fears in life is cancer — for us, our loved ones, or even our pets. It is an insidious enemy that steals lives away.

Feeding pets the logical way

There’s more than one way to cook an egg. (I’m not going to use the skinning cats euphemism here: always hated that one). Literally, though, there are many ways of arriving at the same outcome, and what works and is comfortable for one may not work for another, nor seem to be a logical way to do the job.

The joy of pet industry trade shows

Every industry will have trade shows, where manufacturers, distributors and customers are able to share information about what’s new in the business. The pet industry is no different, and I was fortunate to recently attend my first trade show since the spring of 2020, when we went to Florida a few weeks before the world shut down.

The SAFE way to feed our pets

For the past 50 years or more, there have been underground groups and individuals who choose to bypass the commercial pet food industry and embrace cleaner, fresher foods. Until the past decade or so, most were afraid to announce what they feed their pets to friends, neighbours or even their veterinarians, for fear of rebuke, disdain or sparking the whole ‘raw vs. processed’ debate.

Choosing the best raw foods for your pets

For over a decade, I’ve been a strong advocate of feeding balanced raw diets. From a nutrition standpoint, for anyone or any animal, cleaner, fresher foods just make sense. How we got to the point that we accept hyper processed, synthetically supplemented carb rich and chemically preserved kibble as an appropriate ‘feed’ for our pets I’ll never know. I guess cost and convenience, like the trap we fell into in the ’50s and ’60s with all the processed, canned, and boxed foods that big corporations convinced us were good for our kids —things we wince at today.

Proper food handling keeps your pets safe

There have been a few advisories issued in the pet industry recently, regarding reptile-keeping and salmonella. Apparently there have been issues with some contaminated, frozen feeder rodents; people have handled the feeders and subsequently the reptiles being infected with the bacteria.

What to when dog attacks dog

I have seen far too many reports of dog-on-dog attacks recently in my feeds. Even more disturbing is the number which involve a dog being attacked, and the attacking dog’s owner either being unaware or seeing the attack but then leaving without addressing it.

Under the local Responsible Pet Ownership bylaw, Sec 4 (1)(i) states that owners must “ensure that the dog does not bite, wound, or otherwise injure any individual or animal.”. This includes at off-leash parks, or when the dog is on leash as well. While the bylaw outlines penalties for most infractions, it does not seem to address this one. I have heard of many cases that end up with police involved and/or small claims court lawsuits for damages.

Off-leash parks are there for dogs to enjoy some freedom, but they are not areas for uncontrolled animals, aggressive animals or dangerous animals to be allowed to roam freely. They are meant for the safe enjoyment of all. Unfortunately, some people think “off-leash” means “no rules’, which is far from the truth. Off-leash areas have posted rules and limitations that users must observe and obey.

If you see an unruly dog or actions that worry or alarm you, it is best to recall your animal and put it back on its leash. If you’re still worried, leave and return at a different time, when the threat has passed. The best way to prevent an incident is to not be there for it to happen.

Keep your pets happy on vacation

Summertime is vacation time, and when we take our pets on the road, one of the most important things we can do to make sure they have a nice trip is keep their tummies happy.

With all the other changes putting stress on them, the last thing we want to do is change their diet routines so much that they have a reaction and issues with their digestion.

If you are going to change you pet’s diet, the last thing you should ever do is make the change right when or just before you go on a trip. Make the changes ahead of your trip.

Taking food across borders can sometimes be an issue. Some ingredients in some foods are restricted at the U.S. border, and many border agents will not allow open bags of pet food to cross the border, even if those foods were made in the U.S. If you want to take your pet’s food with you, checking with border services before you go is a good idea.

More summertime pet tips

My last column was about summertime and pets. Something I missed was the implementation of the new changes to the city’s responsible pet bylaw, which come into effect on July 1.

Under the updated bylaw, 22 C becomes a new number to remember. Dogs cannot be left in cars, by law, in temperatures exceeding 22 C (or below 10 c). This does not include cars running with working air-conditioning or heat, but as I mentioned last column, do not rely on your remote starter to provide that operation.

A new twist is the addition of the “no cycling with your dog at 22 C”. This provision is to again prevent harm to the dogs through heat exhaustion and even the potential for burnt paw pads.

There are also many new regulations for dog daycares and breeders inside city limits. Space and staff allotments for daycares should not pose too much of a problem, as most are apparently already easily within compliance. The breeding regulations are a little different. New licensing requirements for intact animals, and restrictions on the number and frequency of litters any female dog is permitted. I applaud the intent of this, and I truly hope that they can find the money to monitor and enforce this, and the public will to report offenders. For a bylaw that was touted as “revenue neutral,” it seems there may be a large cost to properly investigate and monitor these issues.

Keep your pets cool this summer

Keeping your cool in the summer is always difficult but we have fingers to turn up the air conditioning, and the ability to sweat. Our pets can’t reach the thermostat or turn on the hose, and they have a very limited ability to cool themselves by sweating, so they need our help.

The first and biggest summertime concern is leaving a pet unattended in a car when it’s warm. Yet we hear about such tragedies every year. Some people don’t realize that remote starters turn off after a period of. A car may run cold for a while but if you are detained or delayed and can’t get back before it shuts off, things can go bad very quickly. A car can become uncomfortably hot in just a few minutes, and deadly a few minutes after that. Leaving windows cracked open can help but even then, if there is no wind, disaster awaits.

If you do see a pet in a car, remember that it is illegal to break into a car. Call 911 or the Humane Society’s animal distress line at 204-982-2020. Follow the operator’s instructions.

If you are travelling with your pets, bring them with you when you leave the car. Most places will understand if you bring your pet in, especially when you explain that you don’t want to cook them in your vehicle. Let shopkeepers know you will be careful with your pet and that, if they have an accident or chew on anything, you will accept responsibility.

Musings on responsible pet ownership

For a number of years, pet owners in Winnipeg have argued with the City of Winnipeg’s responsible pet ownership bylaw. I have written about the bylaw many times in my column, and for the most part, it seems that pet ownership in our city has been protected by concerned pet owners. The bylaw was raised again last summer, when the city began a public consultaton on possible changes.

The result has been many online discussions, plenty of letters to the editor in the Winnipeg Free Press and many discussions at city hall committees.

Attempts to restrict exotic pets further than they already are have been shelved for the moment by the city, and for good reason. The present system is working, and while it may be overly restrictive in some areas, pet owners have found they can live with it. It is often said that any agreement between two parties that leaves neither happy is usually a fair deal. This seems to be the case here.

Two other proposed changes to the RPO bylaw were ultimately not approved by city council.

Pet-food inflation and how to deal with it

Inflation affects everything. The price increases we have been seeing in recent months don’t just affect the price of gasoline and people-food – pet foods are also affected, in some cases even moreso, given how much of the cost of pet foods is energy related.

Pet foods and litter are heavy, so they can cost a lot more to ship. Shipping costs are even higher for pet food ingredients that require refrigerated transport. Making pet food is both energy and labour-intensive, and the costs of both factors have increased quite a bit recently.

For the pet fopod retailer, foods that require refrigeration also carry higher costs. Most of these costs are not factored into what a brand may set as its MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price), and that makes margins on those foods even tighter, so even though you may be paying more at the cash register, your pet food store may be making less.

When people see a price increase in a brand of pet food, their first reaction is often that someone else is making more money. But I can assure you that, in most cases, stores and manufacturers are not making more money through price increases. In many instances, profits and margins are actually decreasing, with manufacturers and retailers hoping that costs will come back into line.

When to worry about regurgitation

One of my favourite memes depicts a dog 911 operator answering a call and saying: “OK, so you just threw up. Did you try eating it again real quick before someone could clean it up?”

Dogs can have digestive upset, just like we do. Considering what they try to eat, the surprising thing isn’t that they do vomit but how infrequently they do. In most cases, it’s not something we need to worry about. But there are times we should make sure everything is OK.

My best advice is always: “If you think it needs a vet visit, go to the vet.”

No dog was ever hurt by owners being overly cautious and seeking vet care proactively.

Living and learning with each new day

For me, every day is a learning da and every day is a teaching day. Some days I learn more than I teach, and those are good days.

I have grown up in the pet industry. My first retail job was in a pet store and all through my adult life I have consistently been drawn back to working with pets. My 22 years here in Winnipeg serving the fine people of St. Vital and beyond have been a pleasure and when I look back, I cannot believe the changes that have happened, both in the industry and in my own life.

Two decades ago, pet nutrition was just becoming a thing. I remember a company coming to me with a “holistic” kibble, touting it as both the first of its kind, and the first $50 bag of dog food. Yes, those groundbreaking advances happened barely 20 years ago. Sure, there may have been other “natural” foods, and even some that were more than $50 per bag, but this was a major mainstream company introducing this new concept.

In the time since, pet foods and pet food companies have evolved rapidly, whole market sectors, such as ‘grain free’ have exploded, and the amount we spend on pet foods has risen dramatically, with industry monitors saying the U.S. has eclipsed $100 billion per year.

Keep things fresh for your beloved pets

There has been a lot of chatter in social media lately about the best way to extend the lives of our pets. I love it! People are always saying how much their pets mean to them, and now we’re supporting that love with real ways to make our pets lives longer and happier.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am an avid raw feeder. It took a while to get me past decades of training that ‘dog food’ is little brown pebbles. I love the results I have seen in my pets and thoseof my clients, and it just makes sense to eat cleaner, fresher foods.

But raw is not for everyone, I know that.That doesn’t mean you have to limit your pet to one type of kibble — and only kibble — for its entire life.

Studies are coming out which show that adding small amounts of fresh foods to your pets’ diets can make a tremendous difference in pet health. Some foods are more effective than others, and many have very specific benefits, which I will try to share here.