Month: December 2017

What is the most important resolution your dog is dying for you to keep?

Another year is on the books. Your resolution for your dog might need to be updated. This (not so simple) resolution is completely worth the effort!

The Most Important Resolution will give your more time with your dog.

What could be better than that?

It might not be the winter coat making Fido look fat. Obesity is an epidemic that robs us of time with our dogs. Purina’s Life Span Study proved that normal weight dogs lived an extra 1.8 years over their overweight counterparts.1 You must make sure that you are meeting nutritional needs while still reducing his calorie intake. A premium weight loss formula dog food or nutrition plan designed by a veterinary nutritionist will help you make sure.

Make sure your dog keeps a healthy body weight.

Here is how:

Involve your veterinarian.

If you think about it, your veterinarian has really put her “money where her mouth is”. She has probably borrowed nearly $200,000 just to get her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. There is no one that loves your dog more than you do, but your vet is pretty close. If veterinary bills are difficult for you, resolve to set aside a health savings account for your dog. Even a small amount from each paycheck can build up quickly enough to take the sting out of the yearly visit. Just say no to a few little extras and save the money to help your dog. As a part of your dog’s wellness, your vet will assess body weight and be happy to discuss it with you to help you make a plan.

Specified mealtimes are important.

Few animals in natural existence have unlimited access to food. Our dogs are not wired to be couch potatoes with limitless snacking capabilities. Give your pet the amount of food that you and your vet have calculated and allow 5-10 minutes for her to eat. At the end of that time, take the bowl away, preventing indulgence and boredom eating throughout the day.

Increase her exercise to improve weight and wellness.

Winter time blues can get us all. The days are short and the temperatures discouraging at best. Make time every day to get her moving! If you can train her to run on your treadmill, she can get some exercise even when it is cold. With a new workout buddy that always thinks you are great, you will like it too and you will never have to wait for her. She is always ready. Provide her with active toys and play games with her. It is good for your both!

Our dogs love us every day of every year. Let’s make 2020 The Year of the HEALTHY Dog!

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  1. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2002 May 1;220(9):1315-2 Effects of diet restriction on life span and age-related changes in dogs.Kealy RD, Lawler DF, Ballam JM, Mantz SL, Biery DN, Greeley EH, Lust G, Segre M, Smith GK, Stowe HD.
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Help! My Dog Ate Chocolate. What Do I Do?

It is holiday season and treats are everywhere. Some of my patients have already raided the stocking stash and after Santa comes, even more goodies will be lying around. We are baking and snacking and our dogs are a part of the family.  Why can your dog not be a part of all the merry making like everyone else? Well, there is a very good reason. Many of our treats and goodies contain chocolate. Dogs are different from humans. There are ingredients in the chocolate that can make them very ill, or could even be fatal.

There are two ingredients toxic to dogs in chocolate, theobromine and caffeine. Caffeine can cause tremors, increased heart rate, and other cardiovascular side effects. Theobromine is actually the more dangerous of the two, as even low doses of it will require medical treatment.

Each dog will react differently to the ingestion of chocolate, so if you see your dog eat it, don’t waste time searching for the answer online. If your regular vet is open, they are your first stop. If not, then call the animal ER, or even the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.  If suspect your dog ate chocolate, you need to call!

It will help if you know what type of chocolate it was and how much was in the package. Different kinds of chocolate contain differing amounts of the toxic components. White chocolate and milk chocolate are the least hazardous. Dark chocolate and Baker’s chocolate are the most hazardous, since they contain the highest amounts of theobromine.

Your vet will need to know how roughly much was consumed and then will then be able to calculate the toxic dose to use as a guide for the aggressiveness of treatment. Also,  bring the label because it contains information about any other ingredients, like xylitol (which is toxic on its own). It helps to know what kind of wrapper might have gone down with the chocolate too, in case it could cause a physical obstruction.

Also, if you can remember how much of the chocolate was left in the bag, the vet would appreciate an idea of how much was consumed. Ask your family members if they know before you leave. If you are not sure, it is always better to assume the dog ate more than he did and be aggressive in treatment, rather than be sorry because you were too conservative.

Chocolate is not the only holiday offender, but is one of the more common ones.  Other kinds of “people food” can cause problems too. Be overly cautious about keeping things out of reach of nosey canines. Have a happy and safe holiday with no visits to the animal ER!

 

Facts and Fears: Find out the “real deal” on cats and cancer.

Cat lovers need to know about cancer because cats can get cancer. Join me and Dr. Sue Cancer Vet to catch you up on the latest info to help you understand feline cancer.

Find out what she thinks about safety of vaccination in cats. Find out about nutritional links to cancer formation and much more! Click the link below to listen for FREE.

http://www.petliferadio.com/ninelivesep14.html

Cat Brains: Are we ruining them by not understanding them?

It is true that many people don’t understand cats.   But Debbie Martin, licensed veterinary technician and specialist in behavior is going to help us! She shares some interesting and little known facts about cats and kittens.

At what age do kittens learn who they are? Is it a permanent part of who they are? What can we do to make sure they meet their potential?

Is a cat’s disposition more from his mom or his dad? Why do behavior issues come up and what can we do to help or prevent them?   Let’s explore how cats think  and see what we can do to help our cats be happy.

– See more at: http://www.petliferadio.com/ninelivesep3.html