Doga is a growing trend, and the benefits from doing it are plentiful. If you’re wondering what Doga is, this podcast episode has you covered - you’ll learn all about the practice and how it can benefit your health and life in general. Basically, Doga is practicing Yoga with your canine companion. It sounded a little strange to me at first, but after trying it I realized that there are more advantages to the practice than just spending time with your dog.

I spoke with Anne Appleby, a long-time Yoga instructor located in the San Francisco Bay area. She is also the founder of Yogaforce, a company that specializes in Yoga mats and accessories. Anne explained the practice of Doga, and how humans and dogs alike can profit from doing it. Did you know that Yoga is a scientifically proven exercise for your mind, body and soul? Many of these pros can also be applied to dogs.

So how do you get started with Doga if you’re a beginner? Anne explains how and where to find a good instructor in your area as well as different ways to practice Doga at home if you’d be more comfortable doing it yourself. She also lets us know how to find a Doga class that will meet our and our dogs' specific needs for health, mind and body.

Pet health trackers for dogs (also referred to as activity trackers) have been growing in popularity in recent years. They help keep an eye on your pet and record his activity and behavior throughout the day. They’re especially beneficial for pet owners who work outside their home, but can have advantages for stay-at-home pet parents too. Along with many other benefits, pet health trackers have the ability to record your dog’s behavior over long periods of time and send the data to a smartphone app. You can easily see any changes in your dog’s regular behavior that may alert you to a medical problem.

James Andrews is the founder of Felcana, a company focused on pet technology. James is also a veterinarian, and he began to grow frustrated seeing pet after pet come in for treatment for a disease that could have been caught much earlier if the owner knew the signs to look for. That’s what inspired him to start Felcana and launch their new pet health tracker.

I talked with James about the importance of monitoring your pet closely for early signs of some of the most common diseases such as canine arthritis or canine diabetes. There are many advantages to using pet activity trackers, and we discussed all of them. You may be surprised to realize that a small investment in a pet health tracker now could save you thousands of dollars in the future.

Dangers of pet food packaging are rarely something most dog owners think about. We’re more concerned with what ingredients dog and cat foods contain than what the container is made of. Unfortunately, the packaging is just as important as the food contained inside it.

You can do a lot of research and spend a lot of money to get the most nutritious and safe pet food for your furry friends, but if there are chemicals leaching into it from the packaging, it could cause serious health problems. This has long been overlook not only by pet owners but also veterinarians and manufacturers of these products.

Blaine Johnson is the business development director at Tetra Pak, a company focused on providing safe and healthy packaging for food and beverages. Larine Urbina is the company’s communications manager. This week I was able to discuss the dangers of pet food packaging with both of them, and they gave me a lot of great information about what consumers should be looking for when it comes to the packaging of their products, and particularly pet food.

In this podcast episode you’ll hear Blaine and Larine explain the growing trends in the pet food industry, and some of the many risks and hazards that we need to be aware of when choosing cat and dog foods. They also explain how to choose the best dog food for your Fido, including the healthiest packaging.