10.13.08
Children Who Own Pets Have a Better Chance of Fighting Obesity
Deakin University, in Australia, conducted a study amongst about 1,100 children between 5-12 years old, finding that pet ownership could help children to maintain a healther weight and lifestyle.
These children were found to have a better likelihood of staying fit and not becoming overweight or obese if they owned a dog, even if they didn’t regularly walk the dog. It’s believed that the interaction (i.e. playing) children have with the dog helps to keep the weight off. These researchers also found from one of their prior studies that “young girls who owned a dog were more physically active by 30 minutes than those without pets“.
Children who are younger have shown to benefit the greatest – “20% of those who owned a dog being overweight or obese compared with 25% of children who did not live with a pet“. Also, “30% of 10-12 year olds who did not have a dog suffered weight problems compared with 27% of their peers with a pet“.
Have you or someone you know physically benefited from owning a dog?
Source: The Age.com.au
09.28.08
Healthful Diet For Your Dog
To help your dog to live a long life, it’s essential that you feed him/her a nutritious diet. The AKC recommends feeding your dog the right amount of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water to keep your dog healthy.
Your breeder or veterinarian can also give you advice on what to feed your dog, but only you can be the judge of how your dog is effected by the diet suggested by:
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Assessing your dog’s energy level for his/her breed and age
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Appetite doesn’t seem out of norm
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Skin and coat are healthy and shiny
Tips for keeping your dog looking and feeling his/her best:
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Giving your dog dry food provides a more healthy and balanced diet. Dry food can be saved for later if your dog doesn’t finish it and can also be moistened with water, canned food, or other supplements.
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Puppies need to consume more calories than adult dogs. Though puppies need to eat more, keep in mind that they still have small stomachs and can only eat a limited amount of food at one time. Therefore, for puppies under 6 months, try and feed your dog food that’s formulated specifically for puppies, 3 – 4 times a day. After 6 months, feed your puppy 2 – 3 times a day. When you have an adult dog, feed according to their size and energy level needs. Usually, adult dogs don’t need to be fed more than twice a day.
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Don’t feed your dog table scraps. Your dog does not have the same nutritional needs as you do. If your dog manages to “guilt” you into feeding him/her, give a small portion of something healthy such as: carrots, broccoli, or apple chunks.
Source: The Seattle Times
08.05.08
New Strain of Parvo Disease
Beware when bringing your dog two the doggy park! A new strain of Parvo Virus has been discovered and it is known as Type 2-C. It was first detected in Italy in 2000 and then in the U.S. in 2006 and 2007.
At the moment, there is no vaccination available for the virus. Symptoms include loss of appetite, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and without treatment, many animals can die.
You should be warned to take the necessary precautions of ensuring your dog’s health and safety, because the disease is highly contagious at dog parks, because the virus lives for a long time.
06.08.08
Dogs Can Get Skin Cancer Too
Just like people, dogs are in danger of getting skin cancer when being exposed to the rays from the sun. Dogs are just as easily able to get sunburns as people. Most of the time, sunburns are identified on bare areas of dogs. When a dog has a sunburn, they undergo the same painful experience that people do. Repetitive or prolonged sun exposure can increase the risk on skin cancer for dogs.
According to Pet Product News International, certain breeds are at higher risk for developing skin cancer when having frequent sun exposure such as: Scottish terriers, bull mastiffs, Basset hounds, Weimaraners, Kerry blue terriers, Chinese cresteds, white poodles and Norwegian elkhounds. Factors that play a role in certain breeds being more prone than others are: skin color, coat type and hair pattern.
Dogs that have lighter or paler skin have less pigment to protect them from the sun’s rays. Also, dogs that have a thinner coat are more likely to be at risk, because the sun’s rays are able to still reach the dog’s skin. “Any bald patches or areas of scant hair show increase risks for cancerous tumors. The muzzle, ears and belly areas of a dog’s body are at higher risk.”
There are ways to protect your dog from the sun such as buying:
- UV protective clothing: T-shirts and body suits
- Custom-fitted sunglasses
- Leave-in conditioning sprays with SPF
- Pet-safe lotions for exposed bare patches
If your dog already has a sunburn, the Pet Product News International recommends that you should to the following to help soothe the pain:
- Get your pet out of the sun as soon as possible
- Hose down your dog with cool water or place a cool, damp compress on the affected area
- Mix two parts water to one part witch hazel and gently apply to the coat
- Baking soda in a cool bath helps take out the sting
- Aloe Vera spray gel on sensitive, exposed areas helps soothe irritation
06.01.08
Longer Living Pets, Increase Expenses For Dog Owners
More and more people consider their pets a part of their family. As a result, the cost of health and medical costs associated with pets are rising. According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA), pet owners spent $10.1 billion in veterinary care and $9.8 billion in pet supplies and OTC drugs within the last year. The American Veterinary Medical Association found that $24.5 billion was spent on veterinary medicine in 2006, which is more than double the spending 10 year ago.
Years ago, there weren’t these advances in technology available for pets and when a pet was suffering from a severe sickness, the only option was for them to be euthanized. However, in today’s day and age, there is technology that is available to help keep pets living longer – MRIs, Ultrasounds and CAT scans. There is also surgery that’s available such as heart surgery, liver transplants, laser surgery, and chemotherapy. There’s even acupuncture that’s also available to pets. Consequently, pet owners are confronted with a much greater expenditure to keep their pet healthy and living longer. Because of the advances in medical expertise and technology that’s available, pets are now living longer and pet owners are not only spending more on medical and health expenses, but also vitamins and food.
It’s great that there is all of this help that is available to keep pets living longer but all of this eventually becomes more of a moral dilemma for pet owners. If the pet needs surgery, for some pet owners who don’t have the money, it’s a tough choice for them to decide, should I spend the thousands of dollars to save my dog who I love? Or should I use it to pay for credit cards or other expenses so that I don’t fall behind?
For pet owners who don’t have the finances needed, there are nonprofit organizations such as animal rescues that may have low-cost options available.
05.18.08
Heartworm Protection For Your Dog
With the change of season and the warmer weather, dogs are at higher risk of receiving heartworm. This is because heartworms are parasites that are transmitted through a dog getting a mosquito bite. Mosquitoes ingest immature heartworms called microfilaria. When a dog gets a mosquito bite, the immature heartworms are transmitted to dogs, and then develops into a mature heartworm that resides near the vessels of the heart and lungs.
A mature heartworm can grow to be 12 – 14 inches in size. The infection could lead to your dog having symptoms such as: coughing, fatigue, fainting spells, trouble breathing, all eventually leading to heart failure.
Veterinary offices can provide you with prevention medication that is to be given to your dog once a month such as chewable beef treats, tablets or topical products, all of which works to kill off any immature heartworms that may have been received from the prior month. Though you may already be giving your dog its monthly heartworm prevention medication, it’s recommended to bring your dog in for an annual blood test just to make sure they are not infected.
If your dog does happen to be infected with heartworm, there is medication available called immiticide that kills mature heartworms. Your dog will need to be hospitalized when undergoing treatment. After your dog has received treatment, it will need have a lot of rest, can only go on leash walks – no running, so that the body can breakdown the mature heartworms in the bloodstream.
