Health and Nutrition of Your Canine

With February being Responsible Pet Owner Month, this week the focus will be the health and nutrition of your four-legged friend.

When a dog is overweight it poses a serious health risk for the pooch. Not only are they more susceptible to seriously health problems, it can vastly cut your dog’s life short. These problems can be greatly reduced if you focus on your dogs health and nutrition. This way you improve their quality of life and possibly increase their life span.

Dogs aren’t able to control what they are eating themselves, so it is the responsibility of the pet owner to make those decisions for them. It is crucial that they are eating something that is nutritious, healthy and beneficial to them. Just remember that spending an extra few dollars on a high quality dog food can save you hundreds of dollars in medical bills. According to PetMd.com, a recent survey indicates over 50 percent of America's pet population is overweight or obese. Just like people, overweight dogs can face a litany of health issues. The potentially devastating consequences of obesity include:

• Trouble breathing

• Greater risk for heat stroke

• Pancreatitis

• Diabetes

• Orthopedic concerns

• Compromised immune system

• Reduction in life span

• Mammary tumors (particularly in un-spayed females)

• Skin conditions

• Heart problems

• High blood pressure

If you are feeding your dog dry food, The Whole Dog Journal recently published a list of their “approved dry dog foods of 2013.” Their list this year of dry food has expanded to what you can find at your local pet store, instead of having to only go to a pet specialty store. The Whole Dog Journal sites the reason for the change is due to consumer demand. Dog owners want better dog food and the pet food industry listened. Visit our lobby to ask for your copy of the approved list of food.

Treats can be a great reward for your dog, but remember that,” treat” implies that a dog doesn’t get it regularly. Treats should be used in great moderation, and if you are rewarding your dog every day, make sure that the treats that you are giving your dog are healthy and falls appropriately in their diet.

Just like humans, it is important for your dog to get the appropriate amount of exercise, in order to maintain a well balanced and healthy lifestyle. Whether you take your dog on a brisk walk, or taking a specialty class with your dog, exercise can be extremely beneficial to your dog.

Keep your dog on a well balanced diet and having a good exercise plan. It is up to you to keep them on the right track. Once again, if you would like to see the Whole Dog Journal’s approved Dog Food List for 2013, please visit our Lobby so we can give you a copy! Check back next week as we continue to look at how you can be a responsible pet owner.


Sources:
- http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/16_2/features/Top-Quality-Dry-Dog-Food-Review-2013_20688-1.html

- http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/overweight-dogs-and-canine-weight-loss-diets?page=3

Final Week of Pet Therapy Prep Class - How is it Going?

We practice down, stay, leave it and come!

This week is the last class before Abbie and Livvy test to become a Pet Therapy Team. This week was all about fine tuning some of the skills learned in previous classes. Abbie and Livvy are scheduled to take their evaluation test next week on January 26th.

Quickly, Abbie knew that one of her biggest challenges with Livvy was applying the command “leave it,” to anything that Livvy was supposed to ignore. “I practiced leave it a lot at home with dropping things on the floor while cooking and having treats nearby to reward Livvy when she didn’t try to eat anything off the floor.” says Abbie. It’s important to provide real-life situations as Pet Therapy teams volunteer in such places as schools and hospitals where there are certainly going to be things that are off-limits for dogs.

This week was also about building skills to be able to put multiple commends together, like in the video above, such as sit, down, stay, and come. Having a dog with an arsenal of reliable behaviors ultimately makes for a more well-rounded pet but can certainly make pet therapy visits much more enjoyable for the dog and owner. Abbie says, “I know Livvy has an excellent stay, adding distractions like people, treats, and toys was challenging but Livvy did great and I know this is an exercise that she would be able to do very well in any situation.”

We will be taking a week off so that Abbie and Livvy can continuing practicing, stay tuned for the results of their Creature Comfort Pet Therapy evaluation!