Pet & Animal

  What's the best food to feed your dog? Normally, if you are looking to generate a highly controversial blog, a blog wherein there are surely going to be lay-experts and internet gurus, you should title said article, "What's the best food to feed your dog?" For us however, we are taking a different approach. Our "best food to feed you dog" is more about looking at your dog specifically, and determining what is best for your individual dog (and less about the broader "shoulds" and "shouldn'ts.") Nutritional needs vary based on breed, job and age of your dog. So that's the first thing you should look at when considering what brand/type of dog food to provide for your animal. Is Your Dog Young or Old? What Food is the Right Food? A young working dog will normally need higher nutrient content, calorically high or a higher quality food... Read more

    When we sat down with Nutrena this year, we know we wanted to do something different. But there was a problem. In today's society, if you want to learn about chicken farming, there are a million resources available at your finger tips, a million "how-tos" and "best-practices you get with one simple search... "Chicken farming" on Google returns 23,500,000 entries. How could we maintain our position as a cutting -edge farm and ranch store and stay ahead of our competitors and the at glutted market... when chickens have been around and written about since 5,000 B.C. Easy. We bring you content you cant' get from Google. N40 Coops delves into chicken life beyond Google, into the stuff you can't get from a Google search. Human creativity is the only thing that can keep pace with human information, so we went out to find the most... Read more

We had many amazing entries last year for N40 Coops, but after much debate we narrowed it down to these top two coops, six in total, from Washington, Montana, and Idaho'“we aren't saying you should be envious, but some of these coops were out of this world. When it comes to raising chickens, we know its not just the brood lights and chick starter kits that you bring your new chicks home to'“it's about the attention to detail, the love and the foundation you lay for your chickens that will set them up for a full life in your flock. The chicken owners below went fully custom, from the feed and watering systems they installed, to the artwork that adorns their coop walls'“these coops are truly one of a kind pieces of functional art- and we are proud to bring them to you. We hope that no matter the scale,  these coops can inspire y... Read more

Alter Ego - Ginger The main character in this movie from Dreamworks is Ginger. A strong female lead, Ginger is an intelligent, Rhode Island Red hen who is effectively the chicken's shot caller and leader ala resitance de poulet (the Chicken Resistance). Rhode Island Reds are one of the most famous breeds of truly American chickens. They are bred in Rhode Island and lay 5-7 eggs a week... with the right feed. Alter Ego - Cornelius Rooster Kellogg's Corn Flakes, one of the most iconic American breakfast cereals, originally developed in 1894 as a food for patients in a sanitarium, was first graced by Cornelius Rooster in the late '50s. This is a Welsummer rooster, a breed developed in the Netherlands in Welsum. While the Welsummer may be a primarily European breed, Cornelius Rooster is purely American. These chickens are good layers (if th... Read more

Pet and animal shelters are always looking for help. Whether that be volunteering or donating, the goal of these shelters is to have those homeless animals adopted into a loving home. To help with this cause, Hill's Science Diet has implemented their program "Hill's Food, Shelter & Love" to nearly 1,000 shelters. This program helps shelters by encouraging others to volunteer, donate, inform pet parents on proper nutrition for your pet and ultimately adopt from the shelter. Furthermore, they have been providing food to these shelter to help these animals become and remain healthy with a complete and balanced diet. We, too, at North 40 try to help out as we can. One of the ways we help out is our Pet Adoption Program. The Pet Adoption Program at North 40 started with our Lewiston store. The members of the Lewiston store worked with th... Read more

For episode 15 of #AskNorth40, we were asked about the durability of West Paw Products. To answer, we facetimed Mary from West Paw Design who give us a run down on their products. In a nutshell, West Paw toys are made to withstand plenty of action and abuse as you and your pet enjoy playing, tailored to both indoor and outdoor play. West Paw Toys for Indoor Play There are times when you can't go outside and let your dog play in the yard or the park. Whether it be a rainy day or simply not feeling like going outside, there are still ways to play with your buddy indoors. Games of tug-o-war on the couch, small fetch games in the hallway or open areas of your homes with a Hurley bone, or giving them a treat dispensing toy like the Tux are great ways to engage your pet without going outside. These games work well with smaller, indoor dogs, bu... Read more

When considering electric fencing you need to buy for your smaller acreage area, you will need to examine a couple of things. How many strands of electric wire are you running? Are you fencing animals in an area where they will be prone to putting pressure on the fence? Are you running any traditional fencing along with your electric wire? These questions will dictate the type of energizer you will need for each set up. Jesse breaks the down the ratio of Joules needed to charge per single strand of wire in this AskNorth40 question.   What Type of Charger for your Electric Fence? When looking for the best type of charger for an electric fence on smaller acres we are going to need to look at stored energy, or Joules, and how that relates to your fencing area. When selecting a solar electric charger, you will have options from .1 J, .1... Read more

Spring has come early in Montana and everyone is rearing to bring in their horses and get back on the trails. Unfortunately, with the warmer weather, ticks have also come early! I've had several people ask me what they can do about their tick problems. Some are full-fledged, head to toe covered in the icky little things, while others are more moderate infestations. Most equine fly sprays do treat ticks in addition to flying insects, fleas etc., but sometimes, we need a more aggressive treatment to get rid of them. Ticks can cause anemia in large infestations if left untreated and they can cause other serious illnesses even in smaller numbers. It's very important to keep you and your animals clear of ticks to protect your health as well as your animals. We've got an article dedicated to keeping ticks off the dogs in your family as well. Ou... Read more

Changes in the digestive efficiency of the older horses require specific nutritional needs. As the digestive system ages, the ability to digest and absorb nutrients is more of a challenge than in earlier years--plus it's even harder for older horses to chew their food, which is step one in the digestive process for most mammals.   Most feed stores will have a wide range of options for older horses, so let's brush up on a couple mainstays that you need to be aware of when making your initial selection. Check out this extensive piece we did on selecting feed here. When you have an older horse, mare or gelding, there are some key factors you want to look at when making your selection of feeds: probiotics/prebiotics, fiber and more complex nutrients like amino acids/vitamins. Hoof care, while not immediately tied to selecting a feed, c... Read more

Struggling to climb the stairs or jumping on or off the couch? Has he been sluggish and not active during the day? You've probably noticed these things about him, but haven't paid much attention to it until he physically can't climb the stairs or jump onto the couch anymore. It's time to admit it: Otis is overweight. You don't know how it happened, but you suppose, over time, the constant feeding and lack of exercise probably has something to do with it. Otis was a good boy, always wagging his tail and happy to see you, so you might have been slipping him that extra treat or two as well. And before you knew it, Otis went from that happy little puppy to that large ball of fluff that can't get off the couch. Now, what do you do? Do you just let it be? Starve him? Drag him around for "exercise"? To be perfectly honest, you have no idea wher... Read more

Winter for most of us here in the Northwest is spent buried under snow those of us who compete are on the offseason, and the hunting and pack season is over. The sliders are off, the borium is off and it's time to take a little break and enjoy the hard work of the previous year. There really isn't any reason to keep full shoes on your animal if your paddock or turnout isn't too rocky or exposed to rocky areas. Some owner's might prefer half shoes in areas where the turnout has varied terrain, or their horses are still used for trail rides or off season trainings. However, those of us lucky enough to have a decent turnout should take full advantage of the offseason to let our horses go barefoot and schedule regular trims. Good diet and regular hoof care is the best way to keep your horse's feet healthy. Tips for Spring and schedule your ... Read more

This year we are getting together with North 40 employee, Ardythe Bessette and Dr. Newman of Associated Veterinary Services to follow Berneice as she gets on the Zoetis' yearlong plan. When I asked Ardythe how long she had horses, it elicited the familiar pause, "Well since I can remember." When you've been around horses like Ardythe, myself or a whole host of people here in the Northwest, you usually have a horse about the same time you can walk. And it's usually a Shetland. When asked about her horse Berneice, this year's guinea pig for our Year of Zoetis (check out Round #1: "How to deworm a horse" right here), Ardythe only had positive things to say. There are no back health issues that could impact adversely the next year of equine care we have in the works other than last year, "Berneice was bit in the neck by another horse. We s... Read more