Holiday Danger List for Dogs

The holidays are around the corner, and there are several food items we'd like for you to keep away from your dogs. It is Organic Doggy Kitchen's wish that everyone, humans and canines alike, get to spend a very happy holiday together without a visit to an emergency vet. Below are some of the food that you find commonly in your house during the holiday season.

Raisins & Grapes: If ingested, they could cause renal failure in dogs AND cats. So make sure to keep those raisins away from your furries.

Macadamia Nuts: Nuts are holiday favorites but macadamias are toxic to our canine friends! They may cause weakness, depression, vomiting, etc. In the nuts family, it's a good idea to avoid feeding walnuts and black walnuts to your dogs.

Chocolates: Do not leave chocolate boxes under the tree, even if they are wrapped! Dogs like chololate's sweet smell so they may help themselves. Caffeine & theobromine in chocolates can cause serious problems in pets such as vomiting, diarrhea, excessive panting, etc. Darker the chocolate, more toxic to pets.

Yeasty Dough: If you are making homemade bread (yum!), be careful so that your dogs won't grab the rising dough. The dough will keep expanding in their stomach and cause problems.

No caffeinated drinks or alcohol for doggies during the holiday parties! They'll be content with their bowl of fresh water.

So if you are baking homemade bread with raisins and macadamia nuts and chocolate chips and your dog sneaks up on the kitchen counter while the dough is rising, you are in serious trouble.

If your dogs ingest any of the food items above, call your vet right away! If your vet is closed, you can either call emergency vets in your town. ASPCA has a 24-hour call center to help you as well. You can call Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435. But we certainly hope you'll have a very safe and happy holidays and won't have to call the emergency.

Get Well Cupcakes for a Special Doggy

Last week, doggy chefs at Organic Doggy Kitchen made special treats for a very special doggy, Beau. The request was to make something special as a get well wish for Beau the Beagle. We added some color to cheer up Beau and his family. Beau shared these delicious (I ate one!) cupcakes with his sister, and as his Mom told us later, they both enjoyed them :) I had an honor to meet this special boy when I delivered the cakes, and he is very cute and sweet! Everyone at the doggy kitchen is sending well-wishes for you, Beau!

Dogs Gone Political

Organic Doggy Kitchen has created very fun new products for political canines; Political Dog Biscuits are finally here! They are peanut-butter & honey flavored and low in fat, and of course, everything we use is human-grade certified orgnaic. The red bag is filled with republican elephant shaped biscuits, and the blue bag is filled with democratic donkey biscuits. They are the same flavor, so you can ask your dog which party animal they prefer or want to chomp! A perfect gift for politically savvy and the dogs who have everything.

We are donating a portion of each sale of these political biscuits to Washington Humane Society, who helps neglected, abused and homeless animals in Washington, D.C. Capotil Dog Bakery's product website is still under construction but we plan to report on which bags are selling more throughout 2008. As of today, both bags are selling equally! You can purchase them at local pet stores below, or shop at our Organic Doggy Kitchen shopping page.

Art & Frame of Falls Church

Dominion Pet Supply (Arlington)

Fetch (Alexandria/Lorton)

Nature's Nibbles (Alexandria)

PetMAC (Washington, DC)

Posh Pooch (Bethesda)

Pretentious Pooch (Baltimore)

ProFeed (Alexandria/Rockville)

More stores coming soon!