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Most dog owners have seen the behavior at one time or another—a dog just sitting by itself and chewing or licking incessantly at one paw. Sometimes, the cause is obvious. Other times, the paw looks fine to the naked eye. So, why do dogs chew their paws? Why Your Dog is Chewing Its Paws There are a variety of reasons, but it’s important to know that a dog licking or chewing its foot nonstop is not a normal behavior and should be looked at by a vet. Even if the chewing has become a habit, possibly caused by anxiety, it needs to be stopped before the dog creates a hot spot or other problem. The list of possible causes for chewing or licking a paw is long and includes: Food allergy Environmental allergy A tick or other bug caught in the foot or fur A pad that has been burnt by the pavement or other surface A wound to the pad or toe that isn’t healing A fractured bone in the foot A burr from the grass Pain that may be radiating from somewhere else Ingrown hair or toenail Anxiety Infection Frostbite Tumor As you can see, there are a lot of things that can bother your dog enough to make him or her lick a paw. In some cases, you won’t be able to see the problem. In others, you may notice redness or swelling or even see a cut or an object lodged in the foot. Some animals will also limp. What to Do If Your Don’t Won’t Stop Licking or Chewing His or Her Paw Whatever the cause, if you see your dog licking or chewing his or her paw, don’t panic. Many of the issues listed above can be easily diagnosed and remedied. In the case of a suspected food sensitivity, your vet will probably recommend a change to your dog’s diet. Proper diagnosis and treatment begins with a trip to your vet. If you’re worried your dog’s incessant chewing may be caused by what’s in their diet, try KOHA wet dog food. It’s full of problem solving ingredients that can help with common food allergies that may be making your pup uncomfortable. 

Cat dehydration can be hard to spot and dangerous. So how do you know if your cat is dehydrated?  Let’s first talk about what dehydration really means. What Does it Mean for a Cat to be Dehydrated? As a cat parent, it’s important to keep an eye on your cat’s water intake. If you either notice a decrease in water intake or if your cat has recently suffered from vomiting, diarrhea, drooling or heatstroke, look for dehydration symptoms or take your cat to the vet for tests immediately. Stress and some illnesses can also play a role in cat dehydration. Dehydration occurs when your cat isn’t getting enough water or is losing fluids for some reason. This can lead to an imbalance in electrolytes. You may think your cat can’t be dehydrated if you have a readily available water source out for him or her, but that’s not true.A dehydrated cat won’t necessarily appear thirsty or seek out water. In fact, most cats don’t feel the symptoms of dehydration until the problem becomes serious. How to Tell if Your Cat is Dehydrated Skin Elasticity Gently pull up on the skin between your cat’s shoulder blades and see how long it takes to return to normal. In a well-hydrated cat, the skin should return to normal quickly. Dry Gums Pull back your cat’s cheeks and give them a gentle touch. They should feel wet. If they feel sticky, your cat is probably dehydrated. Sunken Eyes Check to see if your cat has dull, unfocused, or sunken eyes.Dehydrated Coat Feel your cat’s coat and skin. Is it dry or flaky? If so, she may be dehydrated. How to Prevent Cat Dehydration Implementing a few simple changes at home can go a long way toward keeping your cat hydrated and feeling their best. Make sure fresh water is always available.It may help to have multiple water bowls out around the house and to make sure the bowls aren’t located near scary objects, such as washing machines or vacuum cleaners. Get a fountain for your cat.Cats prefer running water, and there are a variety of products available that provide your pet with a moving stream of water. Switch to wet food instead of dry.Cats generally don’t drink enough on their own and can get much of their daily water from wet food.  If you notice an obvious change in your cat’s drinking habits, or if their symptoms persist after making the above changes you should immediately schedule a visit to the vet to determine the severity and to devise a treatment plan. With dehydration, time is of the essence, so be sure to get a possibly dehydrated cat medical care as soon as possible.At KOHA, we make cat food with up to 80% moisture to help keep our furry friends hydrated and happy. Our minimal-ingredient meals not only deliver essential hydration, but they also taste great and are chock full of the essential proteins your cat needs to thrive. Find the perfect formula for your feline.

You’ve probably heard of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), but you may not know the difference. In fact, you may even think Irritable Bowel Syndrome is something that just happens in humans as opposed to our four-legged friends. As it turns out, cats and dogs do suffer from both Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It’s easy to think they’re the same issue, but they are different. SYMPTOMS OF IBS OR IBD IN CATS AND DOGS  Most of the symptoms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome are similar, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. While dogs with IBS tend to have milder symptoms less often, it’s very hard to distinguish between the two without some type of testing. One general difference is that pets with IBD often lose weight and may feel the urge to go to the bathroom more often than normal but produce less stool each time.Some of the main causes of IBS in cats and dogs are: Food Sensitivity Stress Antibiotics Low Fiber Diet HOW TO DIAGNOSE IBS IN CATS OR DOGS To diagnose Irritable Bowel Syndrome, your vet will ask you about your pet’s history. Do the stomach issues only happen after a stressful incident, such as a trip to the doctor’s office or a bad storm? Your doctor will also want to discuss your pet’s food and snacks and will probably need a fecal sample to rule out other underlying causes, such as worms. Once a diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome is obtained, your vet may prescribe antispasmodic medicine or recommend a change in diet for your dog or cat. HOW TO DIAGNOSE IBD IN CATS AND DOGS Inflammatory Bowel Disease is more serious than IBS. The cause generally can’t be determined, but diet or infection may play a role. There are various types of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, but the key component is the presence of inflammation. In people, we sometimes know IBD better by other names, such as gastritis or colitis. The specific diagnosis depends on the type of inflammation noted and where it’s located.While many tests can be run to try to determine the causes of a pet’s gastrointestinal issues, Inflammatory Bowel Disease is ultimately diagnosed by a biopsy that shows the presence of inflammatory cells.  The types of cells discovered let the doctor choose the path of treatment, which may include a change in diet or a variety of medicines, such as antibiotics, probiotics, corticosteroids, and others.  Inflammatory Bowel Disease cannot be cured, so the goal is to be able to control or minimize the symptoms. WHAT TO DO IF YOUR DOG OR CAT IS DIAGNOSED WITH IBS OR IBD If your dog or cat shows symptoms of IBS or IBD, the first step is a trip to the vet. It’s possible the cause is something else completely, such as worms or giardia, but your vet can begin testing and make sure that your cat or dog gets the proper treatment. Want to help cure symptoms of IBS or IBD in your cat or dog? KOHA can help.

If you've recently adopted a rescue dog, congratulations! While there may be an adjustment period, in time, your new family member should be able to fit in perfectly. As with any new dog or puppy in the home, there are just a few tips to keep in mind: Remember that caring for rescue dogs takes a little extra patience in many cases. Most likely, your new pet has lived in at least two places before coming home and may be a little nervous about yet another move. To ease the transition, try to be consistent about where your dog sleeps, naps, eats, etc. If you haven't already done so, try to find out as much about the dog's past as possible. This may give you some insight into his or her likes and dislikes and, most importantly, possible fears. A dog that had a traumatic experience in the past can react differently to loud noises and other items. It's hard, but try not to dote on your pet too much. A new dog is always exciting, and owners tend to want to make rescue dogs feel safe and loved. But if you spend every waking minute with your new dog at first, you can create unwanted separation anxiety issues later. If you can, find out what kind of food the dog was eating at the shelter or foster home or wherever he or she lived before the adoption. Suddenly changing a dog's diet can lead to gastric distress, so be sure to switch to a new food slowly. At the beginning, put more of the old food in the bowl and add a small amount of new food. If the dog tolerates that well, you can put in less of the old and more of the new over a period of days until the dog has been weaned off the previous food. Also, if your pet comes home with tummy trouble, you may want to visit the vet. Nerves, parasites and food sensitivities are just some of the reasons for gastric problems. Caring for rescue dogs sometimes means being a problem solver. Watch your four-legged friend to see if he or she has socialization issues. Some rescue dogs weren't given a chance to meet and play with either other animals or people before arriving at your home. If your dog seems to be skittish or aggressive, you may want to find a local trainer who can help you solve those problems. Once again, congratulations and thank you for taking in a rescue dog. While caring for rescue dogs may take a little extra patience, it also comes with its share of rewards. Give it time, and you should have a wonderful addition to your family!

Imagine eating the same food, day after day, year after year. You’d eventually get bored and want something different, right? Yet most pet parents don’t think twice about feeding their dog or cat the same food day in and day out. Dogs and cats enjoy variety and new kinds of food just as much as we humans do, which is why so many pet parents are switching to a rotation diet. Read on for the top benefits of a rotational diet. 1. A Rotation Diet Is a Balanced and Complete Nutritional Approach Rotation feeding lets you combine specific complete diets of two or more foods that are tailored to your pet’s individual nutritional needs. Get Limited Ingredient Diet For Cats and Dogs Here :) 2. It Gives Them Something to Look Forward To Some dogs and cats can lose interest in their food once they become used to certain flavors and textures. On a rotation diet, your dog or cat will look forward to meal time because they won’t know what exciting new treat will be awaiting them. Try switching back and forth between regular proteins (such as chicken, beef, and fish) and novel proteins (such as kangaroo, guinea-fowl, and duck). 3. It May Help Reduce the Risk of Food Sensitivities and Intolerance If a rotational diet is new to you, think of this… Research has shown that consistently feeding common ingredients for extended time periods can cause some dogs and cats to develop an intolerance or sensitivity to the food. With a rotational diet, the ingredients and formulations that are served to your pet are frequently changed. They are not regularly consumed for a long enough amount of time for the pet to develop an adverse reaction. Therefore, rotating the food may reduce the risk of allergies or intolerance. 4. Flexible and Affordable Options Another benefit of a rotation diet is that it enables pet parents to feed higher quality foods for some meals which could be cost-prohibitive if fed exclusively. When your dog or cat gets used to eating more than one kind of food, this can make everything from shopping to traveling easier. Rotational diets have many benefits. If this type of diet sounds like something you’d like to start giving your dog or cat, please consult a veterinarian or a veterinary nutritionist. They can assist you in choosing which foods are best for rotational feeding and ensure that you continue to provide your dog or cat a balanced, healthy diet.

Walk into your local pet store, and you’ll probably see a lot of grain-free cat food. But what does that mean, and why is grain-free cat food better? In reality, the term “grain-free” does not automatically make the food better than the next product. But many foods that contain grains use them as filler, meaning that the overall nutritional content of the food can be sacrificed. And because cats are carnivores, their diet must have the proper amount of meat and protein in it. Buy Grain-Free Cat Food Here :) In addition to possibly compromising nutritional content, cat food filler can sometimes be made from a variety of ingredients, making it much harder to determine what could be causing a pet’s food sensitivities. So, if your cat is losing fur or scratching excessively, it’s certainly possible that your pet food contains one or more grains that disagree with his or her system. And, finally, some of these grain-containing foods can lead to weight gain in your pet. Extra weight often leads to extra health issues for our four-legged friends. Add all of these issues together, and you have a good reason to try to find a healthier alternative when it comes to dinnertime. However, as we said, “grain-free cat food” isn’t the only thing you need to look at when considering new food for your cat. What you really need to examine is the overall nutritional content of the food. You want a clean recipe — the fewer ingredients the better as long as they are top-quality and high in a single-source protein. People like to say “you are what you eat.” The same is true for your pet. As pet owners, our goal is to find a healthy, delicious alternative to help keep the pounds off and the food sensitivities away.

Studies have shown that food allergies overall are the third most common type of feline allergy. Symptoms include Itchy, irritated skin and up to 15 percent of affected cats also exhibit gastrointestinal signs, such as vomiting and diarrhea. Food allergy symptoms include persistent scratching, skin lesions and hair loss which develop over a period of time. The cat’s immune system gradually mounts a defense against protein and carbohydrate that are present in most cat foods. Since protein is essential for cat’s, a novel diet must contain protein, but it should be derived from a source which a cat has not been previously exposed to, such as venison, guineafowl or kangaroo. For carbohydrates, popular wheat, barley, and corn should be excluded from a novel or limited ingredient diet as chances are your cat has already been overexposed to them. No two cats are alike and as a result, one cat might do well on novel protein like kangaroo cat food and another on duck or venison limited ingredient cat food. The key to food allergies is finding a novel protein and carbohydrate and patiently testing.

You may have heard the term "Free Feeding". Basically, this means you drop a food bowl and your dog eats throughout the day. Now Free Feeding to me is a term that does not make sense at all from a dog’s perspective. Did the wild dog hunt and occasionally nibble on his prey throughout the day, or if you tossed some freshly roasted turkey in your dog’s bowl, do you think he would eat it gradually throughout the day? No Way! Most so-called Free Feeding dogs, in my opinion, are simply telling you that they’re not extremely fond of their food and when they’re really hungry enough they will finally eat it. How to Tell if Your Dog Likes Free Feeding or Is Just Finicky? Here’s a simple test if you have a Free Feeding or finicky dog. Pick up a high-quality wet food and set up two bowls. One bowl will have your dog’s regular food and the second bowl will have the wet food. If your dog eats all the new wet food immediately, then you have identified that your dog is not really a Free Feeder. WATCH: Wet Food vs. Dog Food Challenge  Here’s another tip if your dog is a Free Feeder. Rotate delicious wet food proteins daily so your dog never gets bored!Most dogs, just like their human companions, live to eat, so make mealtime more exciting with something new, novel and delicious. If you’re looking for a new wet food filled with delicious cuts of meat and packed with problem solving ingredients and no junky fillers, try one of our KOHA Limited Ingredient Diet entrees.

There will always be the debate about dogs/cats needing or not needing grains. Like humans we all have different food tolerances and preferences, some animals do well on grain-free foods and some do well on foods with grain. Whether for energy purposes, protein factors, digestive issues, or fillers, grains are used a lot across the pet food industry. These are some things you might or might not know about grains: Dogs and Cats do not fully benefit from the nutrients of grains because their bodies do not fully absorb or extract nutrients from non-meat ingredients. Dogs and Cats have a hard time digesting grains. Dogs and cats do not have the proper enzymes in their saliva to break down plant matter and carbohydrates like an herbivore or omnivore. Grains can be harder for our pets to digest, therefore negatively affecting the efficiency of their digestive tracts and functions. Vegetable carbohydrates like potatoes and peas could be a better choice than grains like corn, wheat, barley, and rice. Grains like whole oats or whole brown rice could also be a better choice and easier on a pet’s digestive tract. Grains are used to bind meats to create different consistencies like kibble, pate, loafs, etc… Grains can also be used as proteins or “fillers”, which can make the consumer feel full faster and longer, while also bringing the cost down for the buyer. Removing grains can improve skin & coat, alleviate certain allergies and digestive problems. Grain free diets usually tend to have higher protein percentages, obviously no grains, but this doesn’t mean low carbohydrates so keep that in mind as well. Grains do have vitamins, nutrients, and minerals but it all depends on the sensitivity of your pet and the cooking process of those grains going into their food. I want to clarify that every animal has a different tolerance, just like humans have a different tolerance for certain foods and ingredients. The bullet points above are meant to summarize the idea, the newest trends, and some simple back to basics information about our pets and their digestive tracts. You might think that you choose what your animal eats, but ultimately the choice of food you continue to buy for your pet obviously revolves around the end results. The “end results” meaning how they react and feel with their diets whether it is grain free or not. Mauri believes in a complete and well balanced diet, while also offering a variety of common and uncommon alternative proteins, like kangaroo. Our formulas are grain, gluten, carrageenan gum, potato free, using pumpkin for digestive support and the cat cans also have added cranberry for urinary support. Try KOHA with your pet and see how they like it…