Hello friends, happy Valentine’s day! I hope you have a wonderful pet to snuggle on this special day of love. Well, it is the bitter hardest part of winter cold, so I hope you sturdy, hardy folks are getting through it with your animals with ease. Already the sunset is much later than it was only a few weeks ago, spring will be here in no time which is something to be grateful for.
Not only is this kind of weather hard on people, it’s hard on all the animals, including the fish. We have seen many cases of sick koi fish recently at the hospital, unfortunately. If a fish goes into the winter with any kind of mild illness or parasite, they are unlikely to survive until spring, You see, a koi’s immune system virtually stopped working when the weather gets below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, so we fish lovers will be glad when this weather begins to loosen its grip.
And speaking of ‘fishy business’, I have noticed many cases over the years of cats and dogs that are overweight, yet, when I have a conversation with the caregiver about how we can decrease calories and increase exercise, I begin to hear about how the dog never eats. Do you want to guess how many times I have heard “Fluffy never eats, I am serious”? The answer is, many! It’s remarkable! This person is standing right in front of me, seriously trying to convince me this animal DOES NOT EAT, yet, the pet is rolly-polly and struggling with constipation, arthritis, back pain, etc., from being clearly overweight. I can only chuckle and try not to be insulting. As I realize they don’t literally mean what they are saying, yet, they do say it, a lot, and it’s cat owners, small dog owners, large dog owners, it doesn’t matter. When taking care of animals, and they are having issues, we sometimes have to look deep inside ourselves, be brave, and possibly bring ourselves to face that which we really don’t want to.
Also, it may ‘seem’ like the animal doesn’t eat, because they refuse the special food you put out specifically for them morning and night, but you don’t notice as much how often you refill the large dish of free choice kibble they gorge on while you sleep overnight. So it could be that it just ‘feels’ like they never eat because you are not observing it.
And then sometimes, people specifically tell me down to the ounce what food they feed and how often, and yet it sounds like not very much at all, and I still have an obese pet on my table. How can that be? Maybe the pet is low thyroid. There is always that chance and any dog or cat over the age of 5 should have yearly blood work, including a thyroid test. Which is exactly why we are the only vet clinic that offers discount blood work days for our current clients. Or maybe they need more exercise. As the Life Coach for People with Pets, one of the pillars of Longevity is daily play, for both you and your beloved animals. Everyone needs to get their heart rate up, for an average of 20 minutes at least 3 times a week. Daily is better. But studies show, working up a sweat at least 3 times a week is one of the keys to health. The same is true for our animals except it’s not as easy to tell when they have ‘worked up a sweat”, which in their case, might just be taking note of how hard they are breathing, because that gives you an idea how hard their heart is beating. And you need to get them to pant for even a few minutes at least 3 times a week. So for dogs, that means brisk, not lazy sniffing-stopping, purposeful walks at least three times a week. My personal goal for my dogs is at least 20 minutes, three times a week. And for cats, that means playing with that laser toy, sting, feather, whatever you can do to get them to stalk, pounce, and stay engaged in active play for at least a few minutes. Something is better than nothing. So, make it part of your New Year’s Pet Resolutions to get yourself some exercise, and get some exercise for your beloved animal friend to help them live longer, healthier, and happier.
But, you might ask, what about the pet that eats EVERYTHING and is hungry ALL the time no matter what you do? I have the solution for that, as well. In this case, it’s best to, after you have given them the agreed upon type and amount of food (between you and your vet), and they are still constantly scrounging for food, and their bloodwork, including the thyroid test, is normal, then, you get to have a little fun! Have a dog that is hungry and begging for food right after eating? Offer raw baby carrots, raw large carrots, salad, or apple slices. And for insatiable cats, the key is vegetable baby food sprinkled with a little nutritional yeast until they get the hang of eating it. In fact, my friend Gregg feeds his dog a fresh salad every day, but she prefers butter lettuce to other types, and only a small amount sprinkled with some ground flax seed and raw carrot strips, no dressing. He showed me the video, she is literally drooling waiting for it! Don’t believe me? Check out my YouTube video where my Mastiff dog is doing the same thing, chowing down on some salad! My Mom told me once when she was young she hated salad so much, she would remove one leaf of lettuce from her hamburger. And today, she’s vegan! No matter who or what you are, there is no doubt that more whole-foods, nutritionally rich, bright colored foods in our diet is good for us, on that we can all agree, am I right? Having trouble exactly figuring out how to get it done? Give us a call!
So the next time your dog or cat is giving you fits around feeding time., perhaps that is the perfect time to stop, take a breath, shake your head, have a little chuckle, and think instead about what you have been eating for the past week. This might just be enough to put some fresh perspective on it. Hey, if street dogs in India can breed and survive on vegetarian garbage, I think our pampered dogs and cats are going to be just fine. Don’t you think?
Thanks for reading, and for all your support!
- DrQ and the Crew of Aspen Park Vet Hospital and the ResqRanch