To tell the truth, we are not so mean and not so green - maybe chartreuse.  We are very interested in the health of our dogs and their puppies as well as each other and those around us.  Here we will post our research and experience with various things.  We learn as we go and here are a few things we have learned:

Good Stuff

Vitamin D (Sunshine)

Puppies and dogs need lots of sunshine.  Vitamin D deficiency can affect much more than growth.  Sunshine is the best way to get this "vitamin." 

Angela believes Vitamin D deficiency is the root of all evil and explains the large number of people and animals developing diseases that were common only in elderly populations in previous generations. Modern people lead busy lives and don't spend as much time outside.  They often apply sunscreen if they do happen to catch an hour or two of sunshine.  Some people do this for cosmetic reasons, believing they will not age as quickly by avoiding the sun which is ridiculous.  Others honestly believe sunlight will kill them which is beyond comprehension and kinda creepy in a Dracula sort of way. Some people even use sunscreen on their dogs. 

Few living things can thrive without sunlight.  Fungi do fine without it, people and animals not so much.  Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to everything from depression to obesity to diabetes to infertility to arthritis to cancer and heart disease.  The list of disorders and diseases linked to vitamin d deficiency is a very long one indeed. 

Modern dogs, like modern people, spend less time outdoors than ever before.  This is not presented as medical advice but only as something to think about and to discuss with your medical professionals, especially since supplements can have seriously adverse effects on people and animals. 

Apple Cider Vinegar

Black Strap Molasses

Kefir

Fig

Garlic

Cayenne

Not So Good?

Chlorine Bleach
Chlorine bleach may be dangerous for people, pets and the environment.  Oxygen bleach is reported to be less toxic.  You can purchase oxygen bleach at many of the same places you find chlorine bleach or you can make your own with household hydrogen peroxide. 

Used correctly, some say there is little risk from household chlorine bleach.  It is often recommended and said to be among the most effective and inexpensive products for bleaching or disinfecting.  When you disinfect often, or come into contact with certain substances (urine perhaps), there may be cause for concern. 

They say the best thing for cleaning up anything urine-related is white vinegar.  Below are just two of the scary things we found:

"The darkest side of bleach

The most well known danger of chlorine bleach comes when it’s mixed with ammonia. The toxic brew combines to produce chloramines and chlorine gases that are extremely toxic. But the EPA reports that bleach on its own was responsible for the poisoning of over 25,000 kids in 2000. It can also quite seriously irritate eyes, nose, throats and lungs. 

While household bleach is not very concentrated, it still causes environmental damage. When bleach in wastewater comes in contact with organic materials like wood and soil, it can release known cancer-causing and hormone disrupting chemicals dioxin and furans. It can also produce suspected reproductive toxins trihalomethanes, which is a chemical group that includes cancer-causing chloroform."

Source:  How Green is Bleach? by Kimberly Delaney, April 7, 2009

Organochlorines and Persistent Organic Pollutants

"Persistent organic pollutants [POPs] threaten the health and well-being of humans and wildlife in every region of the world," says John Buccini, a Canadian government representative to the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). After seemingly endless scientific debate, the United Nations arrived at a list of the 12 most globally threatening POPs. It came as a surprise to no one who follows environmental and health issues that each is a chlorine-bearing compound, a member of a group of chemicals known as organochlorines.

In study after study, exposure to these chemicals has been demonstrated to increase the risk of cancer and birth defects. They provoke allergic reactions and damage the nervous, reproductive and immune systems. Some organochlorines mimic the hormone estrogen, thus altering wildlife in ways that diminish their ability and interest in producing offspring.

Organochlorines are also some of the most enduring compounds. Once introduced into the environment it can take years, even decades, for POPs to break down to less damaging forms. And if all this were not reason enough to be cautious, POPs have one final fatal flaw—an affinity for fat. Our fatty tissue soaks up POPs like a sponge takes in water. The technical term is bioconcentration. UNEP scientists say that in some animals POPs have been detected at levels 70,000 times higher than in their surroundings.

Source: Chlorine Quandary by Jim Wilson as published in Popular Mechanics, January 2001