Why kibble is still the best choice for dog & cat food

With more than two decades of experience in the pet food industry, I consider myself reasonably well informed when it comes to dog food and cat food. The internet is full of all sorts of misleading and inaccurate information as it relates to pet food. I would like to share my point of view with you. So why is my opinion worth reading? Well, you can decide for yourself.

My professional background and experience is in pet nutrition marketing. I am not a nutritionist. I do work intimately with the process of developing and manufacturing pet foods. I have developed numerous dog and cat foods (dry, wet and treats) that have been marketing around the world. I work closely with some of the top nutritionists and researchers at major US Universities. I have served on the board of a major pet food manufacturer, and currently serve on a nutrition innovation team with a major global ingredient supplier to the pet industry. I also work for Lucy Pet, a California based family-owned pet health company. We make dog and cat food and we are committed to truth, transparency and honesty in pet food.

Throughout my career I have visited nearly every major pet food manufacturing facilities, and numerous small ones too. I regularly attend professional conferences such as the Pet Food Forum, the annual meetings of AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials), and stay current with official publications and pet food conference calls by the FDA, FEDIAF (the European Pet Food Industry body) and of course the National Research Council (NRC), the body that actually sets the nutritional requirements for animals. I have also spent extensive amounts of time on farms, fisheries and ranches where various ingredients are grown, raised or procured. Over the past two decades I have seen all sorts of things that have given me an education as to what can improve or diminish the quality of a pet food.

I am a fact based person, and leery of fads and trend diets (human or animal). I always prefer science over emotion, and look for long term feeding trials before judging a new food or ingredient. Last year I wrote an article here entitled: A Quick Lesson On Pet Food. Feel free check that out later.

What drove me to write this post is the latest trend of alternate forms of pet foods that have no proven science behind them. I welcome new innovation to the marketplace, provided it is proven as safe and made by experienced nutritionists. What alarms me is that trends such as "fresh pet foods" and "raw dog foods" are misleading consumers to think they are properly balanced. Many of these new companies are attempting to gain popularity and market share by making patently false and misleading claims about dog kibble and cat kibble foods. In order to scare consumers, they claim that dry kibble is cooked at such high temperatures, it "cooks out all the nutrients". This is false. Then they extol the virtues of gently cooked, or slow cooked, or raw diets as better. These statements are not only inaccurate but they are misleading. When a nutritionist designs a kibble diet, they take into account cooking temperatures, storage conditions and shelf-life timelines of the pet food and calculate the ingredients accordingly. The pet food formulation and the cooking anticipates how all the raw ingredients, when blended and cooked will react to ensure that your dog or cat has the proper levels of nutrition they require.  The bottom line is that when made properly, by an experienced team of nutritionists, dog kibble and cat kibble offer consistent nutrition in every bite. Kibble is not deficient of nutrients, and in fact, some ingredients actually become more bio-available when cooked. So don't let anyone try to fool you into thinking that all the nutrients cooked out of kibble dog food.

Some of these fad diet companies hire a veterinarian who puts on their white coat, wears a stethoscope and pretends to understand nutrition. I am here to tell you that the overwhelming majority of veterinarians have little to no training and education in nutrition science. The next time a veterinarian tries to tell you what to feed your pet, ask them how many years of education in nutrition they have. Most will admit they had none, or maybe had an hour during one course of their degree.  So just because a pet food brand has a vet talking about the food, that alone does not mean they understand nutrition and can vouch for the diet as properly balanced.

One major issue I have with these trendy "fresh" pet foods, or human-food looking pet foods, or raw pet foods is that they often times are not properly balanced, even when they claim to be "complete and balanced". The concern I have with these fad diets is that the people making them are not experienced nutritionists who understand the complex nature of food ingredients. For example, there are multiple amino acids that animals require at certain levels. In order to formulate correctly, it requires a thorough understanding of the natural chemical composition and functionality of proteins, amino acids, and all sorts of compounds with how they react when ingested and digested by the animal. There are considerable consequences to animal health and well being just when basic ingredient formulas are not balanced properly. Remember that your pet is depending on that meal for all of its nutrition, so feeding a diet that does not take into account the complexity of nutrition science can have an adverse effect on vital organ functionality and life span of the animal. The digestive system plays a very important role in animal health, therefore ingredients and the formulation really matter.

Many of these diets promote the fact that they include fresh vegetables or fruits, but this is merely for label appeal to the consumer. Consider that fruits and veggies are mainly water, so in order to derive the amount of vitamins and minerals the dog or cat requires, you would need to feed many times higher levels of those veggies to meet the requirements of the animal. Also consider that after veggies and fruits are picked, and as the age, they gradually begin to loose freshness and the nutrients degrade. So those foods made with fruits and veggies could have older, wilted veggies that are not as potent as when they were fresh. That variability in freshness and their potency, coupled with the fact that you would still need many times more than they are using, makes this aspect of fresh or raw less than desirable as a complete and balanced source of nutrients. I imagine that it is possible some of these new, small fresh made pet food brands are trying to do something better, but the problem is they don't know what they don't know. They created a pet food on a formulated basis only and not tested it or understand how that diet performs over time when digested, and how the vital organs are affected.

Raw pet food is even riskier because in addition to being imbalanced, they present significant health and safety issues to the pet and the consumer. Aside from the risks of  Salmonella, and E. Coli, there are documented studies showing that the gut of the dog or cat has dangerous bacteria that continues to grow and build over time. This has a negative effect on the animals' gut health and ph levels. 

Despite what companies are trying to tell you in their marketing, your dog is not a wolf. Just as we as humans are not caveman anymore, we have evolved, over tens of thousands of years. And as a result our DNA has changed. Just look to science, yes science, not emotion for the facts. Science has documented that there are over three dozen different strands of DNA that are different between the dog and the wolf. Those DNA genome differences are significant because they relate to digestion. So while it may seem fun to think you should feed your dog the same way they would "eat in the wild" and therefore mimic a wolf's diet, the fact is your dog is NOT A WOLF. Keep in mind that that message has been perpetuated by pet food companies trying to sell you something. Personally I would never feed a raw pet food diet, ever.

The tough part for consumers is to figure out which brand of kibble is the best. There are so many brands of dog and cat food now, it can be overwhelming. Of course I have my opinion and preference. Go to a pet specialty store to do research, but don't just go with what the store employee or demo person says. They are paid or commissioned in some way sell a particular brand. My advice is buy the best you can afford, but read up on the brand. Look closely at the brand website, what are they emphasizing? What are they not talking about? Are they trying to fool you by only talking about the first few ingredients on the label, or do they talk openly about the entire formula? Do they share details about their nutritionist? Do they talk about the science behind their food? If they are mostly marketing "feel good" traits, and nothing else, then move on. Just because a food is organic, or natural, or humane, does not necessarily mean it is the best. Our pets only live a short time relative to human lifespan. Don't we owe it to feed them the best possible, so they can be healthy?  I get frustrated by companies, large and small who literally lie and mislead consumers. I am merely advocating FACT and SCIENCE when it comes to nutrition. The point of this article is to assure you that kibble is still the best choice for dog and cat food.

In full disclosure I mentioned previously that I work with Lucy Pet, and we have a kibble dog food. However, even if I did not work for Lucy Pet, I would still be sharing the same information because what I am writing about is rooted in science and facts. I added a few links within this article to things we wrote about on the Lucy Pet Products website. I hope this helps shed some insights into what I have learned over my 23+ years in pet food. If you want to see my other article on A Quick Lesson on Pet Food, click here. 
Thanks for reading.

TV Personality Randy Jackson Teams Up with Lucy Pet -- “The Dawg” is Doing Something Good for the Dogs

  I'm thrilled to share this news about our new partners at Lucy Pet. American Idol's Randy Jackson and trainer Brandon McMillan, from CBS TV's 'Lucky Dog'.

 

TV Personality Randy Jackson Teams Up with Lucy Pet -- “The Dawg” is Doing Something Good for the Dogs

Randy partners with 3-time EMMY® winning TV host and dog trainer Brandon McMillan who joins Lucy Pet’s goal to help pets live a healthier life

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Randy Jackson and Brandon McMillan have joined forces to bring breakthrough nutrition to dogs and cats with Lucy Pet Products Formulas for Life™ pet foods. Randy and Brandon are headlining a campaign to launch sales on Amazon and Chewy.com and in select stores across the country.

“I love dogs… they are an important part of my family and give unconditional love,” said Randy Jackson. “Keeping pets healthy with the best food possible is everything, and I’ve recently learned that prebiotics are very important in helping dogs and cats live a healthier life. These formulas were developed by the leading expert in gut health, Dr. George C. Fahey, and I truly believe that Lucy Pet Formulas for Life™ are the best you can do for your pet.”

Randy Jackson and Surfin' Jack

Brandon McMillan added, “I have a training ranch where over a hundred dogs pass through every year. I've been feeding Lucy Pet Formulas for Life™ food to every one of them for over a year, and the dogs have thrived. They love it and I love it because I know they are getting great nutrition. Good nutrition is a vital and very underrated element to a dog's behavior and brain function while being trained. What’s also important to me is that the sales of these foods help support the Lucy Pet Foundation, which has performed over 21,000 free spay and neuters in low income areas. Lucy Pet helps reduce pet overpopulation and the needless euthanasia of over 60,000 dogs and cats a week in the United States.”

Together Jackson and McMillan said, “We are proud to be associated with this cause and Lucy Pet because it’s the real deal… real ingredients…and Products with a Cause that truly saves animals lives.”

Randy Jackson is a business entrepreneur who spans beyond music and entertainment. His successful career

as an A&R executive also includes producer and music manager. He became a household name as a talent judge on television for 13 seasons. Jackson became a partner at Lucy Pet because he was inspired by the Lucy Pet Foundation. He wanted to create a movement for truth, transparency and higher quality pet food for better health of animals.

Brandon McMillan with Surfin' Jack & Service Dog trainee Dahlia

As the son of an animal trainer, Brandon McMillan was born and raised in the animal industry. When he was 18 he moved to Los Angeles to train animals for film and television. During this period, he worked on hundreds of Hollywood productions, training everything from tigers, bears, primates, wolves and of course plenty of dogs. In 2012 he co-founded The Argus Service Dog Foundation, a non-profit that rescues shelter dogs and trains them to become highly trained service dogs for disabled veterans. This can often be seen on his 3-time EMMY AWARD® winning television series ‘Lucky Dog’ on CBS. Brandon is also a trainer to some of Hollywood's top A-listers. Some of Brandon’s extensive list of private training clients include: Ellen DeGeneres, Andy Cohen, James Caan and Kate Hudson.

“We are very excited to have Randy and Brandon join Lucy Pet to bring our Formulas for Life™ to pet lovers,” said Joey Herrick, President and Founder of Lucy Pet. “These foods have breakthrough nutritional advancements and will actually help pets build a stronger immune system to stay active and have overall better health. Their bodies will have long-term health benefits from a healthy gut, especially as they age.”

About Lucy Pet

Lucy Pet Products of Westlake Village, California creates Products with a Cause to help animals by funding the Lucy Pet Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit whose mission is to reduce pet overpopulation and the euthanasia of over 60,000 dogs and cats per week in the United States. www.lucypetfood.com

Contacts

Jo Hunt, 310.413.1157
jo@delyon-hunt.com

 

Are euthanized dogs and cats ending up in your pet’s food?

How could PENTOBARBITAL end up in pet food? My company, Lucy Pet Products is taking a stand against what some pet food brands are doing that is harmful to pets.

 
Are euthanized dogs and cats ending up in your pet’s food?
YouTube link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtkESeMlHyA&sns=tw 

Honoring Hero Dogs and Cats at the Rose Parade

If you didn't see the 2018 Rose Parade on January 1st, you missed seeing the Lucy Pet Paws for Life float that honors hero dogs and hero cats.  The float featured brave animals that have saved and protected human lives. From Tara the Cat who fought off a stray dog who attacked the family toddler, to Sirius, the military working dog who served bravely alongside his handler, 22-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Ashley, who was killed fighting in Afghanistan. Also featured was Jax the K9 officer in the Oxnard Police Department, rocket the Search and Rescue dog, to Surfin Jack a therapy dog. Here is a clip of the TV coverage about our Lucy Pet float:
Lucy Pet Paws for Life Rose Parade 2018 KTLA5 Coverage from Lucy Pet on Vimeo.
As a side note, Lucy Pet is proud to honor these hero pets. It is part of the mission to help animals through their Lucy Pet Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) charity. Lucy Pet also has really great dog and cat food where proceeds go to help support the Lucy Pet Foundation. Check out Lucy Pet Formulas for Life dog and cat foods, at local pet stores or online too. Lucy Pet also has Cats Incredible litter, an awesome litter that actually stops ammonia from forming in the litter box.

Halloween Pet Tips & Watch Outs for Dogs & Cats

Halloween can be a scary time not only for kids but for pets too. Every year, hundreds of dogs and cats end up in the emergency room, or get killed because they get scared, or run out the door when trick or treaters come knocking. Some people even take their pets out with the kids to go trick-or-treating, and that can be dangerous too. Here is a great video clip with some tips and watch-outs for anyone with a pet.

The Age of Pet Adoration

It isn't exactly a newsflash or breaking story that pets have become an increasingly important and meaningful part of human lives. For the past two decades in particular, those of us living in the developed world have seen the status of pets rise to levels never seen in modern history. 

Experts who observe these trends attribute the humanization of pets to a variety of factors; most

My rescue pup Ellie

notably generational shifts, aging populations, and the delayed ages of marriage and having children among the Generations X, Y and Z. Regardless of the reason, there is no doubt that many dogs and cats, now enjoy the highest quality of life in history. Pets are living longer, benefiting from better quality nutrition, higher levels of awareness of pet health needs and generally safer living environments at home.

Despite all the good news for dogs and cats, there is a staggering level of animal euthanasia that occurs every day-- right here in the United States. In fact, every week, more than 80,000 dogs and cats are put down due in shelters due to overpopulation. Americans in particular are especially generous toward animal welfare issues, yet the needs of animals is far greater than the rates of adoption and rescue from shelters. 

If you have never been to your local animal shelter, consider visiting one to learn about the needs in your own community. Regardless of whether you personally have the ability to adopt a pet, you can make a difference by visiting your shelter. Make a donation, volunteer some time, foster a pet, or even just assist with local adoption days. Many pet stores offer onsite adoption days, by partnering with local shelters. Those groups need volunteers to staff the adoption weekends, or need basic supplies to help facilitate the adoptions.

Hopefully you will consider adopting a pet. There are numerous studies that show the health benefits of pets in our lives. Children, adults, seniors, single, married, whatever-- humans are enriched by pets. HABRI, the Human Animal Bond Research Initiative has set out to demonstrate this point, and has funded numerous grants and projects to further study the role pets play in human life. Never before have pets ascended so high in the level of love and adoration from humans. This truly is what I call The Age of Pet Adoration.

More than 20 years ago I ventured into the pet industry and never strayed. I've had a front seat as an active participant in programs, projects and products all dedicated and focused on improving the lives of pets. I'm proud to have had leadership roles in some of the "best of the best" in the pet industry; from guide dog organizations, non-profit animal charities, rescues, pet products manufacturing, marketing and retailing. I'm especially proud of Lucy Pet Products, because we designate part of our net profits (after taxes & expenses) to help animals through the Lucy Pet Foundation.

Today's pet parent consumers have so many choices in what they buy for their fur-children. People often ask me what I recommend...my advice is to always buy the best you can afford. Feed the best quality nutrition, be vigilant to maintain their healthy weight, give them exercise and plenty of toys for mental stimulation. Educate yourself about maintaining a healthy living environment for your dog or cat, as you might do for human children. People forget about things like household cleaners, detergents, room fresheners, pesticides, etc that are used in the home and yard. Your pet can be exposed to potentially harmful environmental hazards you unknowingly use. 

I hadn't really thought much about my cat's health until recently. In developing our new Cats Incredible cat litter, we learned all about the dangers of ammonia exposure in cats from the litter box. It turns out that this very normal biological impact of cats urinating turns into very dangerous and toxic levels of ammonia. For some reason, no one ever thought to fix that. We did. 

In working with leading scientists, Lucy Pet developed the first cat litter that actually stops ammonia from forming in the litter box. So now, we are proud to make this technology available to cat owners so they can provide their cat with a safer, healthier cat litter box. Just a few years ago, no one ever thought about the dangers of ammonia to cats. Lucy Pet understands and embraces the Age of Pet Adoration. Its products like our Cats Incredible that embody this ever-evolving era where our pets are at the top of the family. And rightly so.

Interzoo Summit 2016

Next week I will be speaking at the bi-annual Interzoo Summit in Nuremberg, Germany. 

The Interzoo Summit addresses the key trends in consumer and communication behaviors that will influence the pet industry, including digitalization and show-rooming. For those of you attending InterzooI hope you will be able to attend this conference.

The summit is geared to top managers and executive board members of pet product companies. Investor groups or those new to the pet industry may also find the conference to be valuable. Pre-register for the summit here from this link.


Pets International's March issue featured a preview of the summit:

Litter Box Bob Crashes Wedding

If you enjoy fun TV commercials as much as I do, you're in for a chuckle with this brand new ad for Cats Incredible cat litter from my company Lucy Pet Products. If you didn't already know, ALL Profits from Lucy Pet Products (including Cats Incredible cat litter) go to help fund the Lucy Pet Foundation, a registered animal charity. We're having a bit of fun with these commercials to spread the word about a new cat litter that actually stops ammonia from forming in the litter box. It will be revolutionary for the health of cats, and the humans who share their home with a kitty cat. For now check out this TV commercial, and please share it with your friends too!

Using Your Influence for Cause

I'm pleased to share that I will be speaking at the BarkWorld Expo in Atlanta. By an amazing coincidence, some other matters have brought me to the East coast, which made it possible for me to attend this conference. I've previously attended and been a featured speaker at BarkWorld several times in years past. In particular, back in 2010 I made a presentation with a colleague from Petco about "Making Money in Social Media". 

This year I will be presenting and moderating a panel discussion entitled: 'Using Your Influence for Cause'. The presentation is designed to help digital media professionals and bloggers better understand how to market cause related issues and influence others.

The panel members are from one of my clients at the Lucy Pet Foundation and Lucy Pet Products.  The session will provide a unique glimpse into how and why the founder of a top pet food brand donates his time and millions of his own dollars starting a pet foundation to actively affect pet euthanization numbers at a local and global level. 

Attendees will hear how he is influencing others to support a new cause-driven product company - and how you can use your influence to inspire and champion for cause, too.

Takeaways for attendees in my session will include:

1. Hear why cause marketing is transforming product innovation.
2. Learn how influencing for cause can build your own brand equity.
3. Ask the Vet, Doc Halligan, Chief Veterinary Office at the Lucy Pet Foundation about supporting cause and your pets.

My public speaking engagement calendar has been quite full this year, literally from every corner of the U.S.A. to the U.K. and regularly in Hong Kong. It will be a pleasure to return to BarkWorld once again to see so many familiar faces--and friends that I've known for many years. If you will be attending BarkWorld, I hope to see you during my session, Using Your Influence for Cause.

Petfood & Animal Nutrition 2.0 Conference

This week I am in Chicago attending the Petfood & Animal Nutrition 2.0 Conference at the Hilton Chicago. My firm Zarhill Partners Group is featured for several sessions at this year's pet industry event. As a 19 year veteran of the pet industry and a 27 year career professional I am frequently featured as a public speaker at conferences, webinars and business podcast events. My background as a subject matter expert extends to topics around brand strategies, retail channel strategies, the natural products industry, luxury consumer goods, dog and cat products, and the pet specialty retail channel. Through my Hong Kong office, we regularly host Brand Summits, Leadership Luncheons and Breakfast Networking Meet Ups for key business leaders and brand executives across Hong Kong and mainland China. These past few months my international travel schedule has been hectic, so it is nice to be in Chicago this week, not too far from home.

The pet industry has long been near and dear to my heart, so it is with great pleasure that I will be seeing so many familiar faces this week in Chicago. In advance of my two sessions, I wanted to share two teaser quotes regarding brands:

"Your brand strategy brings your competitive positioning to life, and positions you in the mind of consumers."

"A brand must always be protected through a disciplined strategy."

If you are attending the Petfood 2.0 Event, my presentations are as follows:

• Tuesday 10/20 "Developing a Brand Identity & Strategy" (Main Stage) 
• Wednesday 10/21 "Launching a New Brand" (Meet Up Sessions, by Advance Registration only).

Attendees can submit any brand questions to me prior to Tuesday's sessions via Twitter @RickRockhill

Products With a Cause: Lucy Pet Products

One my my clients, Lucy Pet Products has just launched a line of brand new shampoos and leave-in conditioning sprays for dogs. Their 'Products With A Cause" is really cool because they have developed a line of products where the proceeds go to the Lucy Pet Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) registered animal charity.  I love working with brands and companies who have a greater purpose and mission. It has been really fun working with Lucy Pet Products to help develop their first product line to benefit animal welfare causes. These shampoos and leave-in conditioning sprays are very high quality, with incredible scents like Coconut, Lavender, Apple Oatmeal, Tropical Berries, Blueberry and a gentle Baby Powder scent for puppies. These products are only available in pet specialty shops like local independent pet stores, or Petco stores. 

One of things that has been especially fun has been developing the Surfin' Jack brand. Surfin' Jack is a real dog who was rescued from death row at the Los Angeles East Valley Animal Shelter. Jack is a family pet now, and after some training, went on to star in a Super Bowl Sunday commercial for the Lucy Pet Foundation, and now has inspired a line of grooming products called Surfin' Jack.

This is a great example of a brand that cares and puts its ethics into action. With the proceeds going to help animals, its easy for pet parents to do something good for other animals in need. It is an honor and true pleasure to work with the Lucy Pet Products brand. If you need a good shampoo for your dog, look for this brand at Petco or ask for it in your local pet shop.

PS- I really like the conditioning sprays. I used them on both Sheldon and Duncan. They actually condition the coat and smell so good too. I've been using the conditioning spray a few times a week to freshen up their coat, and it helps make brushing them easier. For Sheldon I like to use the "Blue Lightning" blueberry one, because it brightens his black hair. For Duncan I like to use the Surfin' Jack Coconut moisturizing one...and I think the Surfin' Jack one suits Duncan's personality too. 

Must Read Books for Anyone with a Heart

With Lisa Erspamer at BlogPaws 2015

This week I attended the Blog Paws conference in Nashville, Tennessee, along with the folks from the Lucy Pet Foundation and Lucy Pet Products. Long time readers of this blog will remember that I've attended and written about Blog Paws a number of times from prior years. Blog Paws 2015 was bigger and better than ever.

Blog Paws did a great job attracting some great authors for a book signing event. One of the notable individuals was my friend Lisa Erspamer, author of three really great books: A Letter to My Dog, A Letter to My Cat and this year's newest release, A Letter to My Mom. All three of these books are filled with heart-warming stories contributed by leading luminaries of our pop culture, and beyond. 

Along with her team, Erspamer has done an excellent job crafting these collections of incredible stories. Her latest book, A Letter to My Mom is already becoming as popular as her prior two publications. For anyone with a heart, these are all must-read books and make great gifts. They are highly enjoyable to read, perfect to pick-up and put-down for those short reading bursts. You'll find these ideal for a lazy Saturday afternoon or a relaxing Sunday morning with coffee. Do yourself a favor and pick up these books. You'll be so glad that you did.

Dog Wedding in New York

Dog Wedding Announcemen

Sunday was an certainly interesting day for me. At the moment I'm in New York attending the Westminster Dog Show, but today I had the opportunity to attend a fun event for pet lovers at the Petco store in Union Square, New York. It was a 'Dog Wedding' between a Chihuahua named Zoe and a Puggle named Reese. Before I go any further I should just point out that this was merely a whimsical distraction for people with a sense of humor, so if frivolity upsets you, or you are generally a crabby cynic, then it may be best to skip this post. But if you are aligned with the majority of pet lovers, you will likely find this to be really cute. Judging by the number of attendees and wedding guests who witnessed the event, it was a real hit.

The store did a great job decorating, creating a little altar setting with paper wedding bells, and tufts of pink paper satin flowers. The white "rose petals" were tissue paper, and the rosettes along the posts were all hand made with white and pink tissue paper. Here are a few fun photos:

Maid of Honor: "Baby"

Groomsmen Luke and John

Wedding Party: Seamus the McCaw

Groom: Reese and Best Man: Ziggy the Guinea Pig

Bride Zoe was radiant in white

Wedding Guest Miss Peach

Distinguished Guest Mr Poopy

Father of Bride walks Zoe down aisle

Once all the guests were settled in their places, and tails stopped wagging, the wedding party assembled to prepare the big moment.

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The wedding processional music played "Here Comes The Bride",  Zoe's father walked her down holding her up high for all the guests to see more easily.

Reese, the groom checked with Ziggy his best man for the wedding ring collar. while Baby the Maid of Honor checked Zoe's veil before the ceremony began. As I looked around the room, I noticed one or two of the female (human) guests shed a few tears of joy.

After a brief "officially unofficial" ceremony, with very amusing vows, Zoe and Reese were pronounced "Dog and Wife". Reese looked over to his Best Man and smiled with approval, while Zoe showed off her happy face with a few licks of joy, stamping her feet too. The wedding guests barked, purred, squawked, flapped wings, wagged tails and fluffed fur to express their happiness...but demanded the outward sign of their new matrimonial puptials.

The guests didn't have to wait long for that. The wedding official announced the new couple, Mr & Mrs Reese Kraft. With that, she told Reese that he could kiss the bride, which he dutifully performed to the delight of everyone in the audience.

Once the wedding ceremony was out of the way, the attendees decided to party like animals, so they headed to the Wedding Reception. The humans passed trays of hors d'ouevres which were slices of Natural Balance dog food rolls, turkey, lamb, beef and duck, along with a few dog biscuits too.

As the guests milled around the reception, I went over to check out the wedding cake, which was in the shape of a bone. The guests were all snapping photos of the cake, and began asking when it would be served. I wondered how they would handle this part, but soon that too was revealed...

The happy canine couple dispensed with the traditional "bride feeds the groom" nonsense. and instead they both tore into their wedding cake. The guests were very excited. Lots of tails were wagging in approval, and tapping on the floor. I thought I noticed some drool on the floor near the Maid of Honor, but that may have just been wedding party gossip from the in-laws.

For their Honeymoon, Reese and Zoe are planning to curl up together on the sofa next Saturday morning to watch "Who Let the Dogs Out" TV show on Animal Planet. I think Tillman is their idol. They posed for wedding photos with Tillman's TV show poster in front of them. I gave the happy couple a few bags of Tillman's Treats as a wedding gift to enjoy on their Honeymoon. I hope their paws can work the TV remote control. I suppose they have a human on hand to handle that sort of stuff. It was a fun day, and certainly a first for me.

Helping Animals In Need Through Tree of Hope

Check out this video from the Petco Foundation, and consider helping animals in need through the Tree of Hope fundraiser.

You can also help easily through Facebook- just "like" Natural Balance and they will donate $1 for every new "like" they receive.

Barkworld Social Media, day two

Who knew that a social media conference could be so fun. Anytime pets are involved or the ultimate focus, it is going to be fun. That's part of what made the Barkworld Expo so enjoyable this past weekend. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the conference brought together some of the leading 'social petworkers' for a confab and learning sessions galore. One element in particular that emerged was that of QR Codes (QR stands for 'Quick Response', our friends at Wikipedia have more info on QR Codes here). These QR Codes are slowly emerging as a communication tool for marketers, events, merchants and others to give consumers and the general public a way to learn more. For example I was at the Atlanta Airport flying home and saw a sign in the terminal about airport shopping and restaurant offers with a giant QR code. So I took out my iPhone, opened the scanning app and scanned the sign. It brought me to a website that had a bunch of offers and coupons for the various restaurants and shops in the airport. I decided where to eat based on what I found from that site. Interesting huh?

Well one exhibitor, called Pet QR Tag had a nifty item for pet ID tags that had the QR Code technology, which is very clever. That way if you move, change your number or even post a special message on the website, it is easy to update, but the QR code on the pet's tag allows you lots of options. In all honesty, QR Codes are still not in heavy use by the general public but it is a fascinating way to communicate. I suspect lots of people, like myself just don't know how to get their phone to be able to scan QR Codes. (all you need to do is go to the App Store and search for 'QR Code Scan' or 'barcode scan' and a bunch will come up. I like 'Red Laser' which was free, and is easy to use. Start looking around, you'll see these QR Codes more and more, so explore them and have fun.

It was great to run into my friend and fellow paw-pal Diane with her flat Cosmo, better known in the Twitterverse as @CosoHavanese. This is one cool dog who can do amazing things! Diane is really sweet and does a lot to help raise money for pet charities and all sorts of groups. If you don't follow @CosmoHavanese on Twitter you should do so!

In addition to the learning sessions throughout the Expo, there was a nifty room for blogger networking, where attendees could sit, relax, catch up on e-mail, chat with other folks, or just relax and watch the giant screen in the room with the live Twitter feed from people using the #Barkworld hash tag. It was a nice quiet, cozy space that is rare to find at conferences today.

Barkworld founder Denise Quashie (center photo) is one of the nicest people I've ever met. She plans and hosts this entire social conference, providing a wide range of interesting and valuable sessions for attendees. This year was an impressive event even over the prior year, which I thought was pretty darn good too. One of the sessions I attended was presented by Cheryl Lawson, CEO of 'Party Aficionado' an event planner and Social Marketing Specialist. She is a very sharp person with a heck of a lot to offer, should you ever need a consultant or assistance within your organization. Anyway, Cheryl's session encouraged me to engage with Google+ so I filled out my profile and have that up and running. I prefer Google+ to facebook, as I don't really want to share every facet of my life with everyone, so Google+ is closer to what I want out of an online social presence.

As I mentioned earlier, it's always a big plus to have pets at an event. They add an element of warmth to the activities and for those of us who missed having our pet with us it was great to have a fluffy friend to pet. Some of the pets were the "voices" behind some of the top Twitter handles on the Internet, others were just along for the ride.

One of the exhibitors, petco had a preview of their holiday pet fashions, toys and other cool things. They had a drawing for a free petco gift card and digital camera, which seemed to generate strong interest from everyone passing by their booth. As one a 'diamond sponsor' of this year''s Barkworld Expo, petco was engaging with pet bloggers and social media experts to enhance relationships and build more opportunities for the future.

I love this photo, it is of 'Precious' known to many online as the personality behind @ImaJackRussell on Twitter. Precious is wearing the red shirt, and next to her was a super cute friend in a pink satin dress, with a pearl necklace, sniffing around in her mom's Juicy Couture bag.

I'd like to give a shout out to Denise Quashie from Barkworld who did a great job this year. 

I give Barkworld "two paws up" for the entire event, and recommend attending next year; I know that I plan to do so. By that time, I hope my Sheldon has a bigger following on Twitter (he is @SheldonGryffin) and maybe I'll bring him to Atlanta for meet and greet!