Welcome DERMagic to the Raise A Green Dog Partner Pack!

DERMagic Skin Care for Animals, Inc., began in 2006, by Dr. Adelia Ritchie. As a dog mom to two Shih Tzus, she found that she was in need of help with a wide variety of issues including insect bites, dermal issues and occasional rashes.

Dr. Ritchie initially developed a product prototype when she was teaching organic chemistry at a community college in Florida, as she found that many of the products on the market were loaded with cortisone, steroids, antibiotics or strong chemicals, that just weren't helping her pup. That's when Dr. Ritchie formulated her first product DERMagic Skin Rescue Lotion and after six months her formulation was helping her dog tremendously.

Now DERMagic has a full line of products available with all natural and organic ingredients that help dogs with a wide variety of issues including skin problems, fleas and ticks, hot spots, and basic grooming. They only use the finest ingredients in all of their products including organic certified aloe, vitamin E and therapeutic essential oils and soothing plant oils.

All DERMagic products are made in the USA with domestic ingredients, and are completely non-toxic to pets and people.

Here is just a few of the amazingly, green, eco-friendly and healthy products DERMagic offers:

If you are looking for an all natural, very healthy way to help with any flea issues you may encounter, we love the Flea Shampoo Bar and Flea Dust combo from DERMagic. No toxic chemicals, and made with food grade diatomaceous earth and other green and healthy ingredients, it's a great combo to combat those prolific biters.

Shampoo bars are a very cost effective and easy way to shampoo your pup! The DERMagic bars are  handmade in the Pacific Northwest from from certified organic ingredients, and for every 10 shampoo bars purchased, DERMagic plants a tree!

Looking for a great shampoo/condition combo for your green dog? Look no further than DERMagic's Peppermint and Tea Tree Oil Shampoo and Peppermint and Tea Tree Oil Conditioner. They contain no SLS (Sodium Laurel Sulfate) and are specially formulated to soothe and condition the skin, eliminate odor and stimulate the healing process.

DERMagic has a wide range of products to help your pup love the skin they're in! Check out all the products from DERMagic, we're sure you be delighted! Google

Beneficial insects for a pesticide, insecticide free garden!

One of the best and most organic way to control pests in your organic vegetable or flower garden is with beneficial insects!

Beneficial insects are natural predators of some of the most damaging insects to invade your garden.

What are the most common beneficial insects?

Ladybugs - The familiar round, spotted red ladybug is one of the most popular beneficial insect, feeding on destructive aphids and other soft bodied insects. If you find one of these, leave it and let it go to work for your garden.

Lacewings - Green and brown lacewings feed on aphids, scales, moth eggs, small caterpillars and mites, making them a welcome addition to your garden.

Parasitic Wasps - These mini-wasps are great for attacking the eggs of pests, and are one of the most important insect groups to provide insect control. Photo credit: Gilles Gonthier

Spiders - Spiders may be scary and there are some 'dangerous' ones, but overall spiders are amazing beneficial insects feeding on a very wide range of damaging insects and eggs.

Tachinid Flies - Even though they look like a common house fly, tachinid flies are very important enemies of cutworms, armyworms, tent caterpillars, cabbage loopers, gypsy moths, sawflies, Japanese beetles, squash bugs, and sowbugs.

Many of these beneficial insects are attracted to pollen and nectar plants, so be sure and plant keep some of these wonderful plants in your yard including, clover, dandelions, goldenrod and more.

Learn more about beneficial insects! Google

Evidence is mounting of the dangers of lawn chemical for dogs.

A new study, released yesterday and scheduled to be published in the July issue of Science of the Total Environment, indicates that exposure to herbicide treated lawns has been associated with significantly higher bladder cancer risk in dogs.

This study is just one of many published studies contributing mounting evidence of the dangers of lawn chemicals for dogs.

• In January of last year a published study was released (Abstract of Environmental Health 112(1): 171-6 (Jan. 2012), that shows a link between chemical exposures (including lawn chemicals) and the risk of canine malignant lymphoma.
• A respected report and DVD "The Truth About Cats, Dogs and Lawn Chemicals," funded by the Newman’s Own Foundation, contains a lot of information for you to learn about the dangers and effects of lawn chemicals on your pets, including the use of herbicides, insecticides and other chemicals, and the resulting effects of seizures, tremors, vomiting, respiratory failure and more for dogs.
• BeyondPesticides.org studies have found that dogs "exposed to herbicide-treated lawns and gardens can double their chance of developing canine lymphoma. And these dangerous chemicals may also increase the risk of bladder cancer in certain breeds by four to seven times."
• You can read more about the dangers of lawn chemicals in our 2012 post, 'Is Your Lawn Killing Your Dog.'

Yesterdays released report indicates, "this work was performed to further characterize lawn chemical exposures in dogs, and to determine environmental factors associated with chemical residence time on grass. In addition to concern for canine health, a strong justification for the work was that dogs may serve as sentinels for potentially harmful environmental exposures in humans.'

According to lead author Deborah Knapp of Purdue University's Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, "(dogs) “could directly ingest the chemicals from the plant, or they could lick their paws or fur and ingest chemicals that have been picked up on their feet, legs or body."

In the first experiment herbicides ([2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxypropionic acid (MCPP), dicamba) were applied to grass plots under a variety of conditions including green, dry brown, wet and recently mowed grass. They found the herbicides remained on dry brown grass much longer than to green grass.

In addition, chemicals were commonly detected in grass residues from treated lawns, and from untreated lawns suggesting chemical drift from nearby treated areas.

In a separate study, herbicide levels were measure in the urine of dogs and in grass residues from households with chemically treated lawns and those with untreated lawns in the proceeding 0-48 hours.

The study indicates, "chemicals were detected in the urine of dogs in 14 of 25 households before lawn treatment, in 19 of 25 households after lawn treatment, and in 4 of 8 untreated households," extrapolating that dogs could be exposed to chemicals through contact with their own lawn (treated or contaminated through drift) or through contact with other grassy areas they walk that may be treated, such as parks, golf courses, and neighboring lawn areas.

You can read more about the study thanks to Discovery.com. For the full study visit PubMed. Google

How to clean your home the safe, healthy, green way for the health of your dog!

It's spring, finally! The sun is streaming through the windows, you're ready to open them up and get the fresh air in the house so you can hear the birds singing their spring songs, and take in the all the wonderful smells that nature has to offer.

You know what else this time of year brings? It brings on spring cleaning!

How do you clean your home safely and with the health of your dog in mind? 

We're here to help.

First and foremost ditch (and safely dispose of) all those chemical cleaners and go natural for the health of your dog!

Many of the chemical based cleaners on the market can have dangerous consequences for you, your dog and the environment. The chemical based drain, window, furniture, floor, carpet, laundry, dish washing products and more are reeking havoc on our health, not only from the exposure to the air our dog's breath when we use them, but the poisonous residue that they leave that may potentially be ingested by our dogs as they lick and are exposed to surfaces.

According to the Organic Consumers Association, 'cleaning ingredients vary in the type of health hazard they pose. Some cause acute, or immediate, hazards such as skin or respiratory irritation, watery eyes, or chemical burns, while others are associated with chronic, or long-term, effects such as cancer.' Read more...

Why not turn to 'green' cleaning for your health, the health of your dog and the environment?

Every spring Mum takes a day to do a very thorough cleaning of our cabin. She gets out the vacuum, and our healthy, all natural and safe cleaning kit and goes to work!

What's in our healthy spring cleaning kit?

• White vinegar
• Borax
• Lemon juice
• Baking soda
• Washing soda
• Glycerin bar soap
• Liquid Castile soap
• Tea tree and Lavender essential oils (only for surfaces not frequented by dogs and kitties)
• Old towels
• Swiffer dry mop
• Squeegee
• Vacuum

What does she do with all of these? Here are our steps for getting your home super clean this Spring without harmful chemical cleaners.

Vacuum - Get out your vacuum and thoroughly sweep all your floors, rugs, carpets, knickknacks, books and more. Move your couch and bed and sweep underneath, getting all the dust bunnies and fur balls out from under. If you have larger area rugs, take them outside and beat them with a broom, let them hang outside in the fresh air, and spot clean if needed. For smaller rugs wash them in your washer utilizing an environmentally friendly laundry soap.

Carpets - if your carpets are really dirty and need major help, get out your steam cleaner (or rent one from your local store) and go to work utilizing plain tap water or for dirtier carpets utilize a mixture of equal parts white vinegar and water in the steam cleaner’s reservoir and go to work!

If you have greasy, spot stains you can pretreat with a good environmentally friendly dish (or castile) soap and water, or utilize a small dab of paste of your laundry detergent. Whatever you do avoid those carpet cleaning service companies that utilize chemicals to clean your carpets!

Floors - We have an old Swiffer Sweeper that we utilize often for our floors. But you don't need to purchase the expensive refill cloths. We just add an old cotton wash cloth dry to the Sweeper to get up the bits of dust, dirt and leaves that the dogs bring in. And we'll use the cotton wash cloth wet to mop our hardwood floors utilizing our hardwood floor cleaner (recipe below).

Windows - Keeping windows clean and free of dog nose art is always a challenge. We utilize our window cleaning recipe in a spray bottle and either squeege if possible or wipe down with an old cotton towel.

Bathrooms - Sinks, counters and toilet bowls always need a good cleaning. We utilize our homemade toilet bowl cleaner with great results, and keep a spray bottle of water and vinegar all purpose cleaner to keep our sinks, counters and bathtubs clean and free of germs.

Kitchen - Wipe down all kitchen surfaces utilizing our all purpose cleaning recipe including counters, appliances, cabinets and more. Utilize a good baking soda paste to scrub down the kitchen sink, then add more baking soda and white vinegar to keep your drain clean and clog free.

Here are our green and healthy cleaning recipes:

Carpet Cleaner - for your steam cleaning machine or for spot cleaning. For your steam cleaner utilize 50/50 solution of water and white vinegar (spot check for color fastness). For heavier, dirtier and greasy spots, dab with a mix of environmentally friendly dish (or castile) soap and water, or a dab of water and your homemade laundry soap.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner - mix together 3/4 cup baking soda, 3/4 cup white vinegar, 10 drops of tea tree oil, 10 drops of lavender essential oils (the essential oils add antibacterial properties). For tougher rings, scrub with baking soda.

Hardwood Floor Cleaner - clean your wood (any type) floors with a solution of one-quarter cup of white vinegar (about 2 liquid ounces) mixed in a recycled spray bottle with about 30 ounces of warm water.

Window Glass Cleaner - 1/2 water and vinegar in a spray bottle cleans mirrors, glass and windows. Tip: spray and use a squeegee for sparkling windows.

Drain Cleaner - Pour 1/2 cup baking soda, then 1/2 cup vinegar into drain, wait five minutes and follow with boiling water. For tougher clogs use a drain snake.

All-purpose Cleaner (spray) - White vinegar, water, biodegradable soap - Add a 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar solution to a spray bottle and add a spoonful of castile soap.

Laundry soap recipe courtesy of My Healthy Green Family - Finely grate 1 bar of pure, unscented glycerine soap, add 1 c. washing soda, 1/2 c. baking soda, 1/2 c. citric acid and 1/4 c. coarse salt, store in an airtight container and add 1-2 tbsp to machine for clean, safe laundry.

With all of these tips you can feel confident that no matter where your dog lies, or wherever they lick, they will stay safe and healthy!

Feel free to add your cleaning routine or recipes in the comments and share with all of our RAGD readers!

Happy Cleaning!

Photo courtesy of Flying Tugboat Studios. Google

72,000 Ladybugs released inside the Mall of America!

Now that we're on the subject of gardening, one of the most destructive and common pests that can invade your plantings are Aphids.

On Earth Day, April 22nd, a group of Twin Cities third graders from the Visitation School in Bloomington, Minnesota, received a wonderful environmentally friendly and healthy lesson in how to combat pests naturally as they released 72,000 Ladybugs inside the Mall of America.

The Mall of America is so large that it houses well over 30,000 live plants that have attracted an infestation of Aphids. The release of these wonderful natural beneficial insects will combat the infestation while keeping the Mall and it's employees and shoppers healthier.

Watch the interview and release!


Watch our blog for more information on beneficial insects! Google

Grow an organic vegetable garden for your dog!

Vegetables and fruits are a great addition to your dog's diet and can add a whole form of important vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that help keep them the healthiest they can be!

If you are interested in growing a few vegetables for you and your dog, read on to learn how you can easily grow your own organic vegetable garden.

Steps in preparing your organic vegetable (and fruit) garden

Choose your location wisely - Great soil, that's well draining and contains a good mix of light loam and organic matter and receives good sun are keys to a successful garden. A spot in your yard that receives at least six hours of direct sun each day and preferably near a water source, like your spigot or rain barrel help maintaining your garden easier.

Test the soil - If you initially want to check to see if your soil is a good mix, simply grab a handful of the soil and squeeze. if the clump falls apart quickly your soil is too sandy, if the clump stays together then your soil has too much clay. Loamy soil (which is what you want) holds together, but crumples when poked.

Good soil has a mix of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous at a pH of about 6-7. To check the make up of your soil run a basic soil test to determine it's pH balance. To add nitrogen you can supplement your soil with organic manure, for phosphorus you can add organic bone meal, for potassium you can add organic potash or greensand (all available at your local organic garden center). Generally speaking you can add material from your compost pile, or a good organic compost to your soil for a good garden.

Prep the soil - Tilling the soil, mixing all added nutrients until your soil is loamy down about six inches or so, allows for easier planting, good root generation, and a well drained bed free of weeds for the best vegetable and fruit growing conditions.

Selecting your crops - Decide which organic vegetables and fruits you want to plant for your dog garden. You can choose from these few examples that are healthy and recommended by many sources for your dog. Remember: vegetables and fruits are always best given to your dog in moderation, introducing them gradually and always under 20% or so of their total diet.

• Carrots
• Broccoli
• Cantaloupe (no seeds)
• Watermelon (no seeds)
• Celery
• Green Beans
• Spinach and other leafy greens (minimally)
• Pumpkin (no seeds)
• Sweet Potato
• Squash
• Zucchini

Once you've decided what plants you want to grow you need to check your planting zone to see when is the best time to plant that particular vegetable. You can determine your planting zone by inserting your zip code. Once you've determined your planting zone you can then click these various links to determine the best time to plant your vegetables:

• Zone 1-2
• Zone 3-4
• Zone 5-6
• Zone 7-8
• Zone 9-10

Why organic? - With all the dangers we've discussed about GMO fruits and vegetables and pesticides, insecticides and herbicides added to seeds and plants, it's important to start your organic garden with organic seeds and plantings. And then keep your garden organic for the health of your dog. You can find organic seeds and plantings at your local organic garden center, where they will also have organic material to keep the soil organic as well. If you don't have a local organic garden center, you can find organic seeds online.

Planting - Once you've selected your crops, purchased your organic seeds, you are ready to plant! Plant following all the directions included on your seed packet or planting tag.

Maintenance - Stake tall growing plants. During certain times of dry weather you may need to water your garden, otherwise don't water too often as you want to encourage deep and strong root growth. Weed often to allow the vegetables to receive all the wonderful water and nutrients of the soil. Control pests utilizing beneficial insects or by spaying with a mix of eco-friendly dish soap and water. Control slugs by placing a shallow pan of beer near your vegetables.

Feeding - All dogs don't like all vegetables and fruits. What I've found is that many vegetables are not only digested more easily and enjoyed more by my dogs if they are lightly steamed. And remember, as we explained above, everything in moderation!

Additional Resources:
Books:
Starter Vegetable Gardens: 24 No-Fail Plans for Small Organic Gardens
Organic Gardening Beginner's Manual: The ultimate "Take-You-By-The-Hand" beginner's gardening manual for creating and managing your own organic garden.

Websites:
Organic Gardening
Mother Earth News
The Daily Green

ASPCA list of dangerous plants to dogs:
Plants, whether in part or whole, that may pose a danger to your dog via the ASPCA.

Photo courtesy of OakleyOriginals. Google

Earth Day: A day to take a step for the environment and the health of your dog!

Today, April 22nd, is Earth Day, a day that marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement.

It's also a great day to make one more significant step in you and your dog's life for a healthier planet, a healthier you and a healthier dog.

This Earth Day, we want you to make just one more change to help your dog live a healthier, greener life, by....

• Filtering your dog's water to hydrate them the most healthy way possible.
• Reusing and recycling those dog food bags.
• Looking into adding raw, organic chicken necks and backs to your dog's diet.
• Researching and beginning organic lawn care practices.
• Instead of purchasing the latest and greatest toy for your dog, why not make one they will love with an old towel.
• Switching your dog's water and food bowls to stainless steel.
• Flushing your dog's poo if you live in the city, or build a dog poo composter if you live in the country.

These are just a few examples of little things you can do to help our environment and your dog's health. You can find many, many more great healthy and environmentally friendly ideas in the Learn to be Green section of our website.

And don't forget, get out there and enjoy our wonderful, wonderful planet Earth!

Visit our prior year Earth Day posts listed below for lots of tips and information about how to bring positive, green, healthy change to your dog's life. And, then come back here and leave a comment about how you are working towards a healthier, happier pup and environment. Share your pawsome ideas with other great, green dog families!

2008 - Today is Earth Day! 2009 - Happy Earth Day - a day to celebrate and learn! 2010 - Little things you can do to help the environment and your dog on Earth Day 2011 - Happy Earth Day! 2012 - Earth Day, a day to take action to help the environment and your dog!

Google

It's Spring! Your complete checklist for a healthier, safer lawn for your dog!

Yee haw....it's Spring!!!

It's been (and still is in some states) quite the winter. Even here in the Georgia mountains, we had more snow falls than I can count on two paws. And it's been a little colder than usual, as well.

The nice thing about a good winter is less bugs in the spring. Well, that's what some folks say. We can keep our paws crossed, can't we?

But the best thing about spring is getting out there and enjoying it!

Now that we're living in the mountains in Georgia, we don't have a lawn like we did back when we lived in Indiana (see the photos from a few years ago). But we still know a lot about keeping a lawn free from harmful chemicals and making it a green lush, weed free (well almost), soft, enjoyable place to play, roll and even eat (a few grass blades, that is) - healthily and safely.

Over the years several companies have conducted studies on the dangers of those store bought four step lawn chemicals that you see your neighbors spreading on their lawns or hiring the lawn company to put down throughout the year.

If you haven't read these studies, we encourage you to they will enlighten you to the extreme dangers of those lawn chemicals fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides and herbicides. Some even believe that lawn chemicals are contributing to the much more prevalent incidences of cancer in dogs.

Here are a few resources to bone up on information of the dangers of lawn chemicals:

• A respected report and DVD "The Truth About Cats, Dogs and Lawn Chemicals," funded by Newman’s Own Foundation.
• BeyondPesticides.org has facts and figures that relate to the use and affects of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and insecticides on humans, pets and children.
• Despite what those lawn chemical companies say (and frequently advertise) about how safe their products are for pets and children, many have found that they may actually spur grave illnesses in our small two leggers, through a check sheet, Children and Pesticides Don't Mix.

So how do you get that lush, green, pawsome lawn without using dangerous chemicals? Go organic!

To get your lawn ready for preparation for a great, healthy year, we recommend:

• Cleaning up all the poo after the spring thaw.
• Raking up any leaves and debris.
• Mowing if needed.
• Wait for a good rain, and then pull any unnecessary weeds, as this is the easiest time to get those weeds from the root so they won't come back again and again.

Once you've done the clean up:

• Put down a good quality, organic, weed preventer that includes corn gluten before or during the blooming of the Forsythia. Getting this product down before weed seeds begin to germinate is key to cutting back on crabgrass, dandelions and other unwanted weeds throughout the year. But remember corn gluten will prevent all seed from germinating so...
• Wait approximately one month and then overseed your lawn with a good quality uncoated grass seed that's appropriate for your area. Uncoated seed is important as coated seed is many times coated with a non-organic fertilizer or other growth hormones that may be harmful for birds, rodents and other small bodied living things.
• Wait a few days and then spread a good organic fertilizer, like spray Fish Emulsion, or Worm Poo (these fertilizers won't hamper the growth of new grass seed). We like sprays because they are not as attractive to dogs once they have been on the lawn for a few hours. You can also look into a good organic fertilizer that's pellet based, like Lawn Restore, or Espoma Brand organic foods. Even though these are perfectly safe for dogs, some dogs, like my sis Gracie, just can't help herself from sniffing the pellets prolifically which gives her a runny nose, so we use a spray organic fertilizer.
• Continue to pull unwanted weeds after each good rain.
• If your lawn is in very poor shape, continue to reseed until the hot parts of summer and fertilize with a safe organic fertilizer every 6-8 weeks. You can even fertilize with a healthy fertilizer during the summer months without worrying about it burning your lawn like those chemical-based products do.
• If you have unwanted grass or weeds in your patio or along your fence line there are two really safe ways you can kill the plants in those areas. You can take boiling water and pour over them (this works well for newer shoots), or you can try white vinegar (spray on the leaves and at the root) or  purchase an agricultural vinegar (for those pesky, persistent weeds) for spraying. But remember these solutions will kill everything they touch, so they don't work for weeds within your lawn.
• If you have insects (like aphids) that like to eat your plants try some safe eco-friendly dish washing soap, mixed with water and spray on the bugs and plants. Or you can even purchase beneficial insects, like ladybugs for aphids to feed on the aphids, and let nature take it's course.

Below are some recommended products if you are having trouble finding them at your local independent garden center.

Now you have a great plan to get your lawn in shape for spring, summer and fall...Happy lawning!

Google

Earth Hour: A great time to unite our Planet for the environment!

Mark your calenders!!!

This Saturday, March 23 at 8:30 PM, any where you are, is Earth Hour!

What is Earth Hour?

Earth Hour is one hour each year that individuals, communities and businesses all over the world come together and turn off their lights as a show of concern for the environment.

In it's 9th year, Earth Hour inspires a global community of millions of people in 7,001 cities and towns across 152 countries and territories to switch lights off. And we'll be one of them....we hope you will be too!

What is our favorite way to participate in Earth Hour?

For several years, YoYo and Gracie have been the beings in our home responsible for initiating our involvement in Earth Hour by switching off the lights. Once the lights are off, we enjoy a quiet time together, thinking about ways we can help our environment, play a little tug, and giving/getting some much needed belly rubs (pups always need a good belly rub, don't they?).

Turning off the lights is a fun, easy trick that any dog can learn! To teach your dog to turn off the lights, watch our video tutorials!



Gracie learning to turn off a wall light switch.  And if you'd like you can to view how Gracie learned to turn off a floor light switch.

And, be sure and tell us how you spend your Earth Hour this year!

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Homemade Sweet Potato Chips for dogs and dog lovers!

Lots of folks love, love, love our Homemade Sweet Potato Chew recipe for dogs!

So we thought we would take it just a little further and recommend another one of our favorite treats - Homemade Sweet Potato Chips for dogs!

Our chips don't last as long as our chews and they are smaller, but the nice part is they bake a lot faster than our chews, which makes them a great treat to make and enjoy more often.

So let's get started!

• Wash and peel two sweet potatoes - organic is best!
• Use a kitchen slicer (if you have one) or cut the potatoes as thin as you can (at least 1/9" thin).
• Arrange the slices on a baking sheet and brush them with olive oil.
• Bake at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, until the edges begin to curt. (You may want to turn at 10 minutes and re-brush).
• That's it...cool and let your dog's enjoy!

For the humans we have a few variations that you may want to enjoy. You can have one cooking sheet baking for your dog and one for you too!

For humans versions of our Homemade Sweet Potato chips you can brush the following mixtures on the chips prior to baking:

• Salty - brush a mixture of 2 tb. olive oil, 1 tb. garlic powder, sprinkle with coarse salt.
• Hot and Sweet - brush a mixture of 1/4 tsp. cayanne pepper, 2 tb. maple syrup, 2 tb. olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt.
• Sweet - brush a mixture of 2 tb olive oil, 1/3 tb. cinnamon, 1 tb. maple syrup and then sprinkle with a little coarse salt.
• Herbal - brush a mixture of 2 tb olive oil, crushed garlic clove, 1/4 chopped rosemary and then sprinkle with a little coarse salt.

Enjoy!!! And let us know if you vary the recipe any and share your great ideas with our other readers! Google