Wow, it sure seems Paw Nation’s staff’s dogs loved our Halo Healthsome treats! Here’s (some of) what four different reviewers had to say:

“I don’t know whether Izzy, my Border Collie/Chow mix, noticed that the treats were healthy; I just know that she gobbled them up without a second thought, licking the floor to make sure she devoured up every last crumb.”

“My dog’s nose started wiggling the second I opened the package. I took a sniff inside the bag and could understand why. .. Luckily, the vegetarian dog treats are low-fat and made with a blend of beneficial ingredients. There is no corn, fillers, sugar or molasses.”

“Our mutt Mouse usually doesn’t go for healthy dog treats, so I was a little skeptical at first. … She was so into them that she scarfed down her treat and literally begged for more. … I’d say we have a winner here!”

“When it comes to snacks, my girl is a junk-food lover. She generally scoffs at the all-natural biscuits and goes right for the Milk-Bones….Daisy not only loved the [Halo] treats, she gobbled up the whole bag in a few minutes! …moved, and the stress of that has given Daisy a flare-up on her nose. I swear, the day after the Liv-a-Littles feast, her nose was looking much healthier — even without steroidal cream!”

Click over to our News page to read more.

Please remember, while these products are wonderful, they are not the same as what you can buy at the store. You’ll find earlier formulas, old labels, or short-dating. Short-dating means that the product will reach its “Best if Used By” date within 1-2 months of purchase.

If you’re considering cooking that perfect Thanksgiving feast for your dog or cat, make sure they’re getting good nutrition from the right ingredients. How about making them Halo Spot’s Stew, Thanksgiving-style?

Halo’s always given out its most famous recipe as a gift to those noble souls who cook for their pets. The original Halo Spot’s Stew calls for chicken (see the link below). But turkey and chicken have very similar protein, fat and calorie content. So they are interchangeable! So if you have some extra (or leftover) turkey, try substituting turkey for chicken in the recipe below. And Happy Thanksgiving!

Click here for the Original Halo Spot’s Stew recipe, and don’t be afraid to substitute turkey!

Told from Gordi’s perspective, Week 1 begins with the 8-year old “former paw model” reflecting:

“I started off this week feeling like I was going to burst with energy. It may just be my imagination, but I think I’ve lost an ounce or two since starting Halo last week. I’ve even started to notice some of the boys sniffing in my direction as I pass by.”

Click to read on!

If you missed the intro post, it’s here.

Keith, a 12-year-old from Alderton, Washington, found his beloved Nedley at the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County, the largest shelter in the state, which, thanks to the sixth grader’s essay received $1,000 worth of Halo Dinner Party for their more than 100 dogs and 60 cats. “I was just writing,” says Keith, “from my heart.”

That was evident to Mimi Ausland, 13, the founder of freekibble.com who picked Keith’s essay out of almost 500 entries as one of the five winners. “You could tell it came from his heart,” says Mimi. “It was really genuine.” Click here to read Keith’s entire essay.

Marguerite Richmond, development director of the Tacoma Humane Society, agrees. “When I read his essay, it was so genuine,” she says, “and it reminded me how important animals are to kids.”

The homeless dogs and cats at the shelter certainly appreciate Keith’s thoughtful gift. “They seem to like (the treats) alot,” says Richmond. “Any little boost they can get is helpful, it’s a stressful environment in the shelter, and good nutrition is helpful when they are under stress.”

At home, Keith lives not only with Nedley, but a cat and a cockatiel. But Nedley is the center of his world. “I play with Ned every day of my life because I care about him so much,” he writes in his Krusaders essay. “Sometimes I spend all weekend just us together and as I type this I am holding him.”

Keith loves helping animals, and may one day become a veterinarian. “It feels pretty good to win,” he says. “Dogs need care and stuff.”

A: Most pets require 7-10 days to adjust to a new food because their intestinal tracts contain unique bacteria and enzymes that need to adapt to the proper digestion of a new food. It is recommended that dogs and cats eat a combination of dry and canned food every day. Their bodies are made of 75% water and they rarely drink enough water to support excellent hydration and organ function. I recommend that 25 to 50% of their daily calories come from canned food. You can feed it all at one time during the day or break it up into 2 meals…whatever is easiest for you.

Follow these guidelines for either dry, canned or preferably a combination of Halo food*:

Click here to read complete article.

Visit our News page for a direct link to the audio.

Keep current on human and pet food safety, food recalls, tips on how to handle food safely and news from governmental food regulatory agencies at Foodsafety.gov. This recently launched consumer website allows you to receive e-mail and RSS alerts on recalled or potentially unsafe food–for the health of your entire family!

Click here to see our first blog post about Annabelle.

Click over to our News page to see the clip.

Emma Foster, 13, is one of those active people.

Emma, a winner of Freekibble.com’s Kibble Krusaders Kontest, where kids were asked to write why their shelter was special, won $1,000 worth of Halo Dinner Party for Harris’s shelter, the St. Tammany Parish Humane Society in Covington. “I feel like I’ve actually done something that will contribute to the animals that people don’t usually think about,” says Emma, an eighth grader from Abita Springs. “I felt like a guardian angel when I got the email (that she won). They deserved some love, just like people do.”

In her essay to Freekibble.com founder Mimi Ausland, Emma writes of adopting her family dog Peppi — who she calls the “best dog we’ve had” — and how the shelter was inundated with pets following Hurricane Katrina, pets who still — after five years — need a loving home. “Most of the animals lost in Katrina were people’s pets, not strays… because of this, most of them were older, and are no longer wanted,” she writes. “STPHS does their hardest to make these pets feel like they are still loved, even if nobody wants them.” Click here to read Emma’s entire essay.

Emma herself has four dogs including Peppi, a chihuahua-papillon mix. “I don’t think he’s a dog, I think he’s a gremlin,” she says, laughing. “He is really cute.” She also has about seven cats, and plans on volunteering at the STPHS to earn service hours for school. Despite her love of animals, Emma plans on becoming a medical examiner, thanks to the hit TV show C.S.I.

Mimi received almost 500 Kibble Krusader entries, and picked Emma’s for its sincerity. “She put a personal note in there, that she got the best dog ever to her,” Mimi says. “You can tell that she took awhile to write it, and I love the hurricane Katrina part. This one stood out, it was a little more personal and I appreciated that.”

As does Harris. The STPHS has, on average, 100 dogs and 50 cats at a time. Harris says that the shelter pets “absolutely love” the Halo Dinner Party on their food, and she is sure they are grateful to Emma. “To write an essay to help their humane society goes above and beyond,” says Harris, “to put herself out there with the incentive to help the animals, not to help herself but to help the animals.”