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Welcome to DogAware.com!

I hope you like the new look of the web site.

DogAware.com exists to pass along what I've learned in more than a decade spent investigating canine nutrition and health.

The section on Diet offers information ranging from how to select the best commercial foods to homemade diets, both raw and cooked. Included are sections on supplements, adding fresh foods to a commercial diet, and raw food resources.

The section on Health offers information on a variety of different health problems, focusing primarily on the use of diet and supplements, but providing additional tips such as new therapies. The sections on kidney disease and arthritis are especially detailed, as these are problems I've faced with my own dogs and to which I've devoted a great deal of time and effort learning as much as I possibly can about them.

I write articles for the Whole Dog Journal on the topics of both diet and health. I also began writing the Cook's Corner column for Dog World magazine in January, 2010. My column focuses on issues related to homemade diets. Copies of my articles and columns are posted on my web sit six months after publication.

My Shopping web page provides links to places where I've found good products, service and prices for dog food, supplements, medications and supplies.

For more information about me, and about DogAware.com, see my About page.

I welcome feedback and am also willing to answer questions as best I can about your dogs. If you have any problems, questions, suggestions or comments, please

Updates

I've begun posting my Cook's Corner columns, written for Dog World. They cover various aspects of homemade diets.

New article on Urate, Cystine and Other Bladder Stones, to be published in the Whole Dog Journal June 2010, will be posted in December, 2010. Contact me if you need information on this topic before then.

New article on Calcium Oxalate Kidney and Bladder Stones, published in the Whole Dog Journal May 2010, will be posted in November, 2010. Contact me if you need information on this topic before then.

New article on Struvite Crystals and Stones, published in the Whole Dog Journal April 2010, will be posted in October, 2010. Contact me if you need information on this topic before then.

Article on Weight-Loss Diets, published in the Whole Dog Journal September 2009, now available.

Updated information on the use of doxycycline and ivermectin to treat heartworm disease on the Heartworm page.

News

Toxic Blue-Green Algae can be deadly to your dog. It's that time of year again - when news reports start coming out of dogs dying after swimming in or drinking from ponds, lakes, and reservoirs polluted with toxic blue-green algae. Read More... (August 12, 2010)

California Spay and Neuter Specialty License Plate Program to provide funding for free and low-cost spay and neuter surgery programs across California are available for preorder as of June 9th, 2010. Cost is $50, with $40 going to the fund, all of which will be used for spay/neuter services (not overhead). 7,500 pre-orders are needed before plates will be created. See Spay & Neuter License Plates Available June 9 for more information.

Hormone replacement skin products affect users’ pets, confound veterinarians: Veterinarians are discovering that topical hormone replacement creams and gels, used primarily by menopausal women, can cause problems in pets. (6/10/10). Update 7/29: FDA investigating accidental hormone exposure problem.

Safety Reporting Portal can now be used to report problems with pet foods and medications online. The FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) announced the availability of electronic submissions for animal drug adverse events on 5/24/10.

Natura Pet, makers of Innova, EVO, California Natural, HealthWise and Karma Organic dog foods, has been sold to Procter and Gamble. P&G also owns the Eukanuba and Iams brands. It's too soon to know what impact this will have on the quality of Natura Pet products, but it's certainly worrisome. (May 5, 2010)

See News Archive for additional news items.

Seminars and Talks

Rational Use of Behavioral Medications for Cats & Dogs: How to Use What When
Dr. Karen Overall, DVM
Saturday October 30, 2010 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Natural Health & Nutrition
Dr. Donna M. Raditic, DVM, CVA
Camp Unleashed, located in the Ashville, NC
September 23-26, 2010 (this seminar is open only to campers)
Dr. Raditic's specialty is in canine nutrition. She is currently doing post-graduate studies in nutrition at the University of Tennessee. She will discuss the benefits of various diets, including raw food and supplements, the current thinking about over-vaccination and answer all your questions about this essential subject. She also offers nutrition consultations. See Staff page for contact information. Note that Dr. Raditic is only at that NC camp, not the one in the Berkshires.

Acknowledgements

Eternal gratitude to web site designer extraordinaire , who got me started with Dreamweaver and helped spice up my web site design with color and graphics.

Thanks to Terry Journey, Wind Dancer Design, for my logo and banners.

Thanks to Nancy Kerns, editor of the Whole Dog Journal, for allowing me to use some of her wonderful photographs on my site.

Thanks to award-winning professional pet photographer Pam Biasotti, You Had Me at Woof Photography, for allowing me to use her wonderful images of my dog, Ella.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact me. My name is Mary Straus and you can email me at either or


Rocky is a Yorkie-Poodle mix who had suffered from digestive problems his whole life. Click on his image to read about the diet his owner finally found to help him.
Pashoshe Fisher, a Chihuahua, was a wonderful, joyful companion to his owner for 19 & a half years. He was on a high quality raw diet for over half his life.
This is Ella, my Norwich Terrier.