• Safety

    Check your Peanut Butter labels first!

    How many times have you had Pet Professionals, your local pet supply store, your neighbors and your friends tell you about using Peanut Butter in your pup’s favorite toy, to re-activate a bone, or to give medicine in a tasty treat? In all fairness, it has been relatively safe all these years, but now there is a hidden danger in SOME Peanut Butter brands that could be lethal for your favorite companion. That danger is a sugar substitute called Xylitol, and while it is safe for people, even a small amount of this substance can be cause dramatic illness and even death in canines. Ingestion of as little as 0.1…

  • Health & Wellness

    The skinny on green tripe

    I first learned the word “tripe” from that episode of The Simpsons where Lisa becomes vegetarian. People usually quote “you don’t win friends with salad,” but what stuck with me is “you can’t seriously expect us to swallow that tripe?!” and then the kids are served tripe. That joke went over my head back then as I hadn’t yet experienced Vietnamese Pho, and so didn’t recognize tripe as a legitimate ingredient, nor understand what exactly it is. Now I know better. Tripe is considered “offal,” which is the viscera or trimmings of a butchered animal.  Specifically, tripe is the stomach lining from cows and other ruminant or grazing animals. This trait…

  • Health & Wellness

    Blessed are the Veggies

    While not all families are lucky enough to live near a local farmer’s market, I feel very fortunate that we have one of DC’s longest running markets just 2 blocks from our store and our home. We get to enjoy the benefit of fresh fruits, vegetables, bread, meats, cheeses and eggs year round! On top of that, my partner is an avid urban farmer so we are reaping the benefits of her passion and hard work throughout the year as well. So what does this have to do with animal nutrition? A lot it turns out. Did you know that just adding 20% of fresh food to your dog’s diet…