Bark City Doggy Daycare

Bentonite clay is mud. But it's not your everyday run of the mill, make a mud pie sort of mud. It's a healing mud that can be eaten or used topically. There are three types of Bentonite clay depending on the dominant mineral within it, but the clay I will be talking about is food grade Calcium Bentonite Clay (aka Animin) . Bentonite clay is a negatively charged, highly absorbent substance that is mainly comprised of volcanic ash. It contains around 50 trace minerals and has historically been used for centuries as a healing remedy for a variety of ailments: Yes and more! In fact, animals in the wild will instinctually search out and eat clay to get rid of pests or if sick. They aren't all "scientific-y" like us humans but somehow they know it works and in Layman's terms, here's how: Bentonite clay is negatively charged, when ingested the clay's negative ionic charge pulls positively charged particles (such as parasites, toxins, allergens and bacte...

Fleas- They are nuiances. If you have pets, you have to deal with them. There are many products on the market. Some are chemical and some are natural. A lot of us use a chemical treatment, such as Frontline. But, there are a lot of animals and people out there that are allergic to chemical treatments. The natural treatments composed of essential oils can sometimes have adverse effects on animals (or humans) as well. Whether chemical or natural, you need to research your product and decide for yourself what is the best option for your household. I also like to recommend that pet owners "know their enemy", which means you need to do a little research on the life cycle of a flea. Some products help eliminate all stages of a flea from larvae to adult and some just eliminate the adult stage. The product I am showing you today, is a natural, non-toxic substance that eliminates ADULT fleas (and other insects as well): Diatomaceous Earth. Diatomaceous Earth is a fine powdery subs...

Canine Parvovirus is a viral disease that attacks rapidly dividing cells in a dog's body. It affects the intestinal tract of canines as well as the white blood cells. Young animals can also suffer severe damage to the heart muscle. This disease is HIGHLY contagious and resistant. It can live in an environment for months and sometimes for over a year on organic material (grass). The most susceptible to contracting this disease are puppies, adolescent dogs and unvaccinated canines. It affects all members of the dog family including wild members: wolves, coyotes, foxes, ect. Because of it being highly resistant in an environment and affecting wild animals as well as domesticated, unvaccinated dogs could contract this disease from the streets or wilderness. Treatment for this disease is very intensive and expensive. Without veterinary care, it has a high mortality rate. Parvo is transmitted through contact with a dog's feces and is highly resistant to most disinfectants. T...

Taurine is an amino acid that is vitally important to a mammal's body function. It helps regulate heart beat, maintains stability of cell membranes, transports calcium in and out of cells, regulates the activity of brain cells, facilitates the absorption of fats/ fat-soluble vitamins and is an antioxidant. Most humans and canines can manufacture taurine through the body unless there is a medical or genetic condition. Cats cannot and some dogs, particularly large breeds, have trouble producing taurine making them susceptible to deficiency. Before WWII, pet food was 90% canned and made of mostly meat. Once war hit, the metal used for canning was needed by the military. Dry kibble became the #1 pet food. Gradually, over time, the pet food industry started to cut corners and introduced more and more grain to their product. A diet rich in taurine comes from eggs, dairy, fish and red meat. Cereal grains contain no taurine. Deficiency of this amino acid is a slow progression and could t...

For the last couple weeks, I have written about two products Honey Bees produce: Honey and Royal Jelly . This week, I will write about:  Bee pollen is the plant pollens collected by worker bees that is combined with plant nectar and bee saliva. It is then packed into pellets in the hive and used as a food source for male drone bees. Historically, it has been touted as a complete food source. It is composed of about 40% protein , free amino acids, a multitude of vitamins, minerals, folic acid, enzymes, co-enzymes, antioxidants, Quercetin , carotenoids and rutin . Once ingested, it is rapidly and easily absorbed into the body. Within just two hours of ingestion, it can be found in the blood, cerebral spinal fluid and urine. Throughout history, Bee Pollen has been used for a multitude of medical problems as well as to correct an unbalanced diet. It should be noted, that not much research has been done on the actual validity of the health claims other than case studies by in...

Before I start in on the benefits of Royal Jelly, I would first like to make a BIG announcement!!! After 2 years of planning and changing things, Bark City is pleased to announce that we will be EXPANDING!!!!! 2015 will be a very big year for us as we will be doubling our square footage!! We will be staying open during the whole process and it won't interfere with the dogs having fun. With the expansion we will also be adding NEW SERVICES!! I am SO excited about what is to come. It has been a dream of mine to have a facility like this and to have the dream come true is such a blessing. I would like to Thank all of you for helping this dream become a reality. I would also like to Thank my wonderful employees (past and present) for working so hard to make sure all the dogs are taken care of I really couldn't have done it without them. And now onto Royal Jelly: Royal jelly (RJ) is a milky white substance produced by worker bees in a colony and is used in the nutr...

Bees are one of nature's little miracles. Everything from their little stings to the honey they produce have been praised for their human health benefits. Currently, experts are finding that honey may also help your dog's health. Over these next few weeks, I will talk about a few of the products honeybees create and how they can be used to enhance your dog's health. This week, I am going to talk about the most obvious product- honey. In this post, when I talk about honey, I am referring to raw honey. Raw honey is not heated, pasteurized or processed which can destroy the nutrients.... and nature has packed A LOT of nutrients into this syrup... Isn't that amazing? Honey contains glucose and fructose which are simple sugars (monosaccharides) and are more easily absorbed than disaccharides and polysaccharides which are found in table sugar and starchy vegetables. Honey also contains live enzymes, such as amylase. Amylase facilitates proper digestion of ca...