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Hill's for the holidays: Making sure our pets are well groomed, well fed, and stay safe this season

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Our pets are as much a part of our holiday celebration as any other family member. I know my dog Hazel is! So, how do we get our fur-family holiday ready? It's all about priorities. My top priority is keeping Hazel safe this time of year because she is a trouble magnet. Hazel’s top priority is having a full tummy at all times!  

'Make More Merry' with Petco: Certified dog trainer Darris Cooper shares holiday safety tips and his top picks for dog gifts 

Let the festive season begin! Holiday festivities include gift shopping, and although we may have mixed feelings about this, our pets LOVE it! Not the shopping but the gift-receiving part. I'm not trying to throw shade at cats, but let's be honest; dogs are often much more enthusiastic when opening holiday gifts. Hazel is adorable. She's learned what gifts are and assumes all gifts under the tree are for her of course, and how to tear into them to get her prize. She shoves her big, fluffy head into gift bags, and holds wrapped gifts between her giant paws to rip the paper off with pup-precision.

Happy Earth Day: Environmental stories for dog owners, animal lovers, and climate activists

It's the greenest day of the year- Earth Day! This is the second Earth Day, April 22nd, we've celebrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. It saddens me that a year later Ontario is in worse shape. I hope you find a safe way to do something positive for the planet today. Interested in learning more about living sustainably and fighting climate change? Check out the green headlines on Paws For Reaction! These are the best posts about climate change, pollution, wildlife, the outdoors, and environmental action. 

Food for thought: What's your carbon foodprint and how can you reduce it?

Here's something for you to chew on. One of the easiest ways to fight climate change is with a diet change. We all have a carbon foodprint. What we put in our mouth leaves a mark on our planet. Deforestation to make space for animal agriculture, energy and water consumption, transporting and storing food, the production process, pesticide use, and waste runoff created by farming, and unsustainable packaging are ways our food can harm the environment. Climate change will threaten our food security, causing an increase in weather-related disasters like floods and droughts. To keep food on our plates we need to take climate change off the menu.

The pet food industry's dirty secret: Ingredient splitting, "real" meat, all-natural, and a ban on by-products

Do you think the concept of fake news is a recent thing? The retail pet food industry has been serving up its own brand of fake news for more than a decade. Today's pet owners are savvy and have a hunger for knowledge; much of the knowledge they seek is available at their fingertips. The tip of their paws, if you will. But like an all-caps tweet typed by Donald Trump on the toilet at 2:00 AM, most information dished by retail pet food companies will be found false once it's fact-checked. Much of the information is based on human diet trends that are influencing the industry. While conceptual and anecdotal information is pleasing to hear and easy to digest- and science is confusing and questioning- it's important to remember the fundamental rule of retail: you are being marketed to. 

I enjoy holiday food and festivities! As much as I know Hazel loves her advent calendar and opening her stocking on Christmas morning, I'm well aware that including her in some holiday traditions has me barking up the wrong Christmas tree. The holidays can be loud and scary for a pet. It can be sensory overload, and at times they can feel threatened. Your pet is a valued member of the family, and ensuring they are safe and comfortable during this festive season is important. The holidays pose many risks for your pet- health risks as well as a risk of heightened anxiety. Christmas dangers are everywhere, so it's important to keep your pet safe. I've put together a comprehensive list of holiday hazards and tips about how to keep your pet safe during the Christmas season. 

International guest blog: Agroecology farming and its contribution to climate change mitigation and sustainable food production

International guest blog by Tulyahabwe Rogers (from Uganda, East Africa).  So excited to welcome him to the Paws For Reaction extended family!

Severe, diverse, and location-specific impacts on agricultural production are anticipated with climate change. The last IPCC report indicates that the rise of carbon dioxide and associated greenhouse gases could lead to a 1.4 to 5.8 °C increase in global surface temperatures, with subsequent consequences on precipitation frequency and amounts. The 2013 report of the IPCC authoritatively re-affirms that climate change and variability will impact food and fiber production around the world due to the effects on plant growth and yield by the elevated carbon dioxide, higher temperatures, altered precipitation, and transpiration regimes, and increased frequency of extreme events, as well as modified weed, pest and pathogen pressure. Therefore, more durable benefits will likely result from radical agroecological measures that will strengthen the resilience of farmers and rural communities. Traditional farming systems are repositories of a wealth of principles and measures that can help modern agricultural systems become more resilient to climate change.