Arwen, as an ex-groomer, I'm sure I'm not giving you new information, but my home-groomer uses the Furminator on our pets, it really seems to work well..
Commenting on our dogs' nutrition:
Our Lhasa, Obi, has recurring oxilate crystals. Hayden and I make a home-made diet for both Lhasas to help avoid Obi having to have another bladder surgery. If anyone has a dog prone to these, a really great yahoo group exists called; K9kidneyDiet. You also might try to find as much information as you can about the Fuzzer Diet. There is also a really informative article in the Whole Dog Journal about the Fuzzer Diet and its success. If you can't find/access this article, let me know and I can send you a copy via email. As a result of the dogs diet change, they are at healthier weights, have shinier coats, and so far(knock on wood), Obi has been oxilate free!
Our cats nutrition:
All of our cats are on wet food. They eat canned Merrick cat food that is labeled as "before grain". I have found that most research points to the fact that cats are not getting enough water in their diets when they eat even the best dry food available. Cats do not drink a lot of water(unless they are ill), and the majority of the water they should get would come from meat. After losing two of my beautiful girls to kidney disease, I made the switch. All five of my little beauties lost a healthy amount of weight, lost troubling skin problems, and are shinier and happier. It was not easy though, that dry food is totally addicting, and it was a slow process to change them over and not end up being eaten by them!
Our Bunny Diet:
Our bunnies are spoiled rotten. We purchase multiple types of hay, bother our friends for fresh apple tree cuttings, and give them fresh vegetables, and a tiny bit of banana twice a day. Parsley came from the Oregon Humane Society, with a recurring problem with overgrowth of his rear molars and front teeth were misaligned causing them to not wear down well. We used to have to have his teeth trimmed monthly, but since we switched to large and small apple branches and got him on some stiffer grass hay, we haven't had to take him in about 6mths now.
I spend a lot of time looking up health information re: cats,dogs and bunnies. So, I somewhat apologize for the lengthy post! As you can imagine by all of the above, our pet grocery/vet bills cost more then our own. They are our family, and they deserve all of the best!
Hollylane
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