Friends of Lana filter by Pet Care Tips

Holi is right around the corner, and most of us await the festival of joy and colour with glee. Faces will again be awash in every imaginable hue and the streets will be full of the kind of vibrancy that only Holi can bring. People come together and exchange the usual, decadent Holi delicacies with cheer.

It's no wonder then that many of us also want to include our pooches in the festivities. Our furballs of love are such an important part of our world and we love celebrating anything and everything with them!

However, in the heady exuberance of Holi, it's important we still remember the fact that the things that are safe for us may not always be safe for our animal companions.

Just like for humans, Intermittent fasting aka Time-Restricted Eating for dogs is a feeding strategy in which dogs are fed their daily food in a restricted time period, followed by a longer period of fasting.

The goal of intermittent fasting for dogs is to mimic the natural eating patterns of wild dogs and wolves, who typically hunt and eat in a feast-or-famine pattern.
In the wild, animals do not follow a regular eating schedule like our pet dogs. Instead, they adopt a feast-or-famine pattern based on the availability of their prey. They also have an innate sense of when to stop eating and focus on resting to eliminate toxins and promote self-healing.

As dog lovers and pet parents, we pay utmost attention to our furry pal’s every need – be it food, bedding, toys, treats, clothes, you name it. But there’s also something else that we should be addressing every day. Sometimes multiple times a day. Yep, you guessed it. We’re talking about dog poo. Our recent survey, Pet Dogs of India 2019, highlighted an astonishing fact – more than 60% of our respondents admitted to not picking up after their dog. Dog parents often believe numerous myths regarding their dog’s business, which might be a big reason behind this statistic. Let's flush some myths to start with... 

For most of us, the Indian summer is symbolised by flush yellow Amaltas trees, plump, juicy mangoes and iced glasses of roohafza. But for us pet parents, summer is also synonymous with something else – dog hair just about everywhere!

Many of us face the frustrating problem of dog shedding every year. We run from pillar to post trying to figure out at what point we’re supposed to intervene because honestly, THIS huge a furball every single day just can’t be normal right?!

We spoke to three canine experts – Gurugram-based senior veterinarian Dr Shelly Mattoo, canine nutritionist and founder of  Doggiliciouus,  Manssi SK Saha, and President – Professional Pet Groomer’s association, India and Business Owner - Petsburgh, Mumbai, Andrea Cyrill Khurana, to get the lowdown on whether summer dog shedding is normal, how to manage all this shedding, when to seek expert care and diet tips for excessive shedding in dogs.

Did you know a dog’s hearing ability is almost seven times that of a human? That would be like your younger brother shouting into your ear with a microphone outside the engine of an aircraft.  Now imagine your dog’s plight during Diwali when loud firecrackers would go off constantly and without warning. Not surprisingly, this is the time when most pets (dogs and cats, in this case) go missing trying to seek a hideout to get away from the loud sounds and people.

This sparkling festival of lights and happiness can easily turn into a time of tremendous stress and horror for our four-legged children. Alleviating their suffering at this time of the year should be one of your key priorities as a pet parent. Here are some tips to help you to be more mindful and careful about your pet’s needs during this difficult period for them.

Holistic healing and alternative therapies have seen a meteoric rise in popularity in the last few years, as more and more people discover the healing power of nature. Rightly so, this openness towards natural medicine has seeped into the life of dogs and pet parents too. Bach Flower Remedies is one such holistic, safe and gentle system of natural healing, derived from wildflowers.

To understand what this system of healing is all about, we caught up with Nisha Jaggi, miracle-worker Bowen therapist and Level 2 certified Bach Flower Remedy expert.