Author: Lea

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Happiness Is A Warm Puppy

I’m sure you’ve all hear people say that their dog doesn’t get cold, but in reality, if you’re chilly or cold, your dog most likely is too. With the weather starting to get cooler, warming foods just sound good, like a cozy sweater for our insides. I know my mind thinks of a steaming cup of soup or perhaps a warm casserole on a cold day. So I’m sure tons of you are wondering, can warm foods also help your dog beat the chill?

Dogs actually digest food in a very similar manner as we do, so we can surmise that warm foods benefit them the same way they would benefit us. There are actually many benefits to heating up your dog’s food during colder months, so let’s talk about them.

Certain dogs, such as seniors or even flat-furred breeds, such as Chihuahuas, Weimaraner, Chinese Cresteds, Greyhounds, and German Pointers, are more susceptible to the chilling effect of cold temperatures. These dogs may benefit even more from consuming warm foods on chilly days.

Warm foods actually work their magic in a couple of ways, providing an immediate sense of internal warmth and also help to increase blood circulation. When we are cold, everything in the body constricts, and the blood concentrates in the body’s trunk to warm and protect your internal organs. Eating warm food helps to reduce constriction, enabling the blood to flow away from the core to the extremities, creating a sense of warmth.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, warm foods are also quicker and easier to digest than cold foods. The body needs to bring the temperature of food closer to its own internal temperature in order to efficiently digest it. If the food is already warm, the body does not need to expend as much energy heating it and can get right down to the business of digestion and absorption.

I’m sure you’ve all walked into a bakery and began salivating due to the aroma of freshly baked bread and cookies in the air; scent, plays a powerful role in inducing appetite for us as well as our furry friends. A dog’s sense of smell is tens of thousands of times more sensitive than a human’s. So the better food smells to a dog, the more appetizing it becomes. Warm foods release aromatic vapors, which stimulate a dog’s desire to eat.

The simplest way to feed your dog a warm meal is by simply heating up commercial canned or kibble dog food by mixing some gently warmed water to create an enticing cold-weather stew. If you feed dehydrated or freeze-dried food, simply re-hydrate the with warmer water than usual.

Here at Paws Give Me Purpose, we have many dogs of different breeds, ages and different nutritional requirements. We do make many homemade meals and treats, and at least one meal a day is a warm one. Some of our recipes are even human friendly.

Want to share a warm meal with your dog? Try this delicious Butternut Squash Soup recipe, it will have you both licking the bowl clean!

Butternut Squash Soup:

Ingredients:

  • 1 10-ounce bag frozen butternut squash
  • 1⁄4 cup canned, unsweetened light coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon natural maple syrup
  • 1 1⁄4 cups water
  • 1⁄8 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1⁄8 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1⁄8 teaspoon ginger

Instructions:

  • place squash into a medium-sized saucepan
  • add 1⁄4 cup of the water
  • bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to medium
  • cook until the squash is completely tender, stirring frequently and breaking up the chunks, about 10 minutes
  • once the squash is fully cooked, stir in the coconut milk, maple syrup, and remaining water
  • add cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, and stir.

*If you prefer a smoother consistency, use an immersion blender to puree the mixture or transfer the soup to a blender, puree, and return to the pot.

Most important to note, please be certain that the temperature of your dog’s portion is warm but not hot. You can use it as gravy on their meal or just offer a warm bowl of delicious soup.

There are many benefits to heating up your dog’s food during colder months. According to traditional Chinese medicine, every food possesses an energetic quality that makes it either warming or cooling. Dog-friendly foods to warm include gluten-free oats, quinoa, rice, kale, squash, and coconut. How can you tell if your dog feels toasty after having a warm meal? Observe his/her body posture. A dog will curl up to keep warm just as we do, so if your pup sprawls out after a warm meal, they are not cold.

Give this recipe a try, and let us know what you and your pup think.

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Remembering Our Four-Legged Heroes

Today on the 17th anniversary of September 11th, 2001, people turn their thoughts to the lost and to the heroes who helped save lives on that day. Among the countless human heroes, sung and unsung, are the rescue dogs who helped scour the rubble for signs of life. The service dogs that responded to the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the wake of the attacks should not be forgotten.

Roughly 350 Search and Rescue Dogs worked tirelessly in the tragic aftermath searching for survivors and human remains. Sifting through the rubble, blinded by smoke and debris, the dogs battled exhaustion and emotional distress.

After hours of searching and finding no one alive, some handlers would ask volunteers to hide amidst the rubble to be “located”, helping to raise the dogs’ spirits. Even when the search mission became one of recovery instead of rescue, the dogs carried on diligently, providing love and peace to the families of the victims.

Most Search and Rescue Dogs are trained by non-government organizations, often with civilian handlers; many of the teams that responded to Ground Zero did so on a volunteer basis as they knew their country needed them.

All of us here at a Paws Give Me Purpose pay tribute to those four-legged heroes who walk among us and to those who have left indelible paw prints upon our hearts.

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Labor Of Love: Salute To Dogs

Labor Day became an official holiday in 1885, when the first movements to legalize the holiday were put into motion. Since it remains unknown who exactly came up with the idea for Labor Day, it’s fair game to guess that perhaps a dog helped to inspire the idea; after all, dogs are incredibly hard-working, and happy while doing it.

You might be wondering, what sorts of jobs do dogs really have? Dogs can have all sorts of jobs, you never know, one day a working dog might help you.

Police use K-9 dogs to help catch criminals and keep the public safe, hospitals hire dogs as therapy workers, and dogs help farmers herd livestock. Search and rescue dogs save lives all of the time, as well as thousands of dogs working alongside the military.

Those that have a dog or two working alongside them don’t know what they would do without them, after all no human has the same capabilities as a dog. Do you know anyone that walks on two legs and can smell a bomb? I sure don’t!

Dogs all over the world work all kinds of jobs, and don’t do it for money but because they are our true friends. Dogs are incredibly loyal and caring, just give them food, water, shelter, and a few kisses and they are happy to be your best friend and enjoy doing whatever you ask.

Even if your dog lives a pampered life as the family pet, they are still working hard. It’s a proven fact that dog owners live longer than non-dog owners.

So, while paying tribute to all of the working people this Labor Day, don’t forget to pay tribute to all of the service dogs out there too. They work hard everyday to keep the world safe and full of smiles. Don’t forget to thank your own canine either, after all they work hard to keep you healthy and happy everyday of the year.