ANIMAL WELLNESS
For a long, healthy life!
ANNUAL NUTRITION ISSUE!
TOP 4 nutrients
WHAT’S THE
REAL
EVERY ANIMAL
NEEDS
PROBLEM WITH WHEAT?
SAFE & HEALTHY
BATTLING
OBESITY
DENTAL TREATS ARE HIS
pH LEVELS BALANCED?
Fall LIVER
DETOX for your dog
– NATURAL
Saluting
NUTRACEUTICALS THAT WILL HELP SLIM HIM DOWN
Born deaf, this Old English sheepdog was trained using sign language. He’s now a social media star who turns heads wherever he goes.
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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 Display until November 9, 2015
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TO HER DIET WITH
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GROOMING LONG-HAIRED KITTIES MADE SIMPLE WHEN CATS TURN
AGAINST
VOLUME 17 ISSUE 5
AnimalWellnessMagazine.com
EACH OTHER How this mysterious kitty
Dreaming CAT PARK BONUS INSIDE!
– A CASE STUDY got her name
of a
Contents October/November 2015
50
Features
18 THE REAL PROBLEM WITH WHEAT
People and animals have been eating this grain for thousands of years, so why has it started causing health issues? The answer may shock you.
22 3 EFFECTIVE SUPPLEMENTS FOR WEIGHT LOSS
When combined with the right diet and exercise program, these nutraceuticals will safely bring down your dog or cat's weight.
26 SOCIAL WELL-BEING
FOR DOGS
Companionship and socialization are as vital to his quality of life as food, water and shelter.
30 COULD HE HAVE A PH IMBALANCE?
It can impact his health and well-being, and is associated with a variety of conditions.
33 ON THE DOT
Learn how a canine athlete inspired a company that specializes in nutritional and joint supplements for dogs and cats.
34 A HISTORY OF THE
HUMAN-CANINE BOND
Our love of dogs brings us emotional, mental and physical health benefits as well as companionship.
40 MUDROOM MAKEOVER
If could build the perfect mudroom for your canine – what would it look like? Take a peek at these “dream mudrooms”!
42 4 TOP NUTRIENTS
EVERY ANIMAL NEEDS
No matter what type of food you feed your dog or cat, these few specific supplements will complement and improve his diet.
4
animal wellness
46 DETOX HIS LIVER
Even with a natural lifestyle, all dogs have toxins in their bodies. Helping the liver do its job can aid in cleansing his system.
50 COVER STORY
SALUTING SANTIAGO
Deaf from birth, this Old English sheepdog has enriched the lives of thousands of people and animals, and has even inspired a food business.
59 ON THE RIGHT
WAVELENGTH
This company’s light therapy pads are an effective, non-invasive way to help your animal’s body heal itself.
62 BOOST HIS IMMUNITY
WITH ACUPRESSURE
These four acupoints are powerful allies for making sure your dog’s immune system is up to the job of protecting him from illness.
64 THE POWER OF PUMPKIN
Share the health benefits of this favorite seasonal food with your four-legged friend.
68 DENTAL TREATS
They’re an easy way to keep his teeth clean – but make sure you’re buying safe and healthy products.
78 ADOPTING AN OLDER DOG?
You’re making a good choice, but here’s what you need to know to ensure success.
92 ALTERNATIVE MEATS FOR FELINES
Is your cat “fed up” with the same old, same old? Is she allergic to beef or other common proteins? Try giving her something different.
94 GROOMING
LONGHAIRED CATS
One rough tongue often can’t handle all that extra fur -- here’s how you can help her stay sleek and mat-free.
96 WHEN CATS TURN ON EACH OTHER
Seeing a former friend in a different place or situation can affect a cat’s ability to recognize him, and may lead to fearful or aggressive behavior.
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64 Columns
22
12 Yakkity yak 54 Warm & fuzzy 56 Rewind 73 Passages 76 To the rescue 84 Book reviews 90 Tail end 98 Purrfect end
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Social media Tips, contests and more! AnimalWellnessMagazine News, events, and tips! @ AW_magazine Tips, pet photos, and more! AnimalWellnessMagazine Crafts, laughs, and more! AnimalWellness
Departments 8
Editorial
38
Product picks
60
Animal Wellness resource guide
71
The scoop
81
Social media
86
Marketplace
89
Events calendar
89
ClassiďŹ eds animal wellness
5
real problem The
WHEAT
with
By Deva Khalsa, VMD
People and animals have been eating this grain for thousands of years, so why has it started causing health issues in so many? The answer may shock you. Wheat has been a staple grain for centuries. It forms the basis for a large number of foods eaten by both people and animals. Yet it’s only relatively recently that we and our companion animals have started suffering from health problems caused by ingesting wheat. Why did this grain suddenly become the villain of the food pyramid, given its long history in the diets of both humans and dogs?
DOMESTICATED DOGS ADAPTED TO EAT WHEAT Many say that wheat and other grains aren’t a natural part of the canine diet, which is why they cause health problems in some dogs. But domesticated dogs have been eating many of the same foods as humans for 11,000 years, and those foods include grains. A lot can change in the canine genetic makeup over the course of 110 centuries. The truth is, our dogs have co-evolved along with us, their bodies adapting so they could digest a lot of the same foods we do. From early on, novel adaptations in canine genes allowed the ancestors of modern dogs to digest and assimilate the starches found in wheat and other grains. Some pretty impressive genetic research has been done in Sweden on this topic. Eric Axelsson,
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animal wellness
an evolutionary geneticist at Uppsala University, compared the DNA of dogs and wolves. He found that unlike wolves, dogs have developed genes for digesting starch. Dogs have up to 30 copies of the gene that makes amylase, a protein that starts the breakdown of starch in the intestines, while wolves have only two copies. The multiple genes for amylase are also 28 times more active in dogs, demonstrating that our canine friends are many times better at digesting starches than wolves are. There’s another gene that codes for an additional enzyme called maltase, important in the digestion of starch. The Swedish study found that compared to wolves, dogs produce a longer version of the maltase digestive enzyme (the same type seen in herbivores such as cows and rabbits), making it even more efficient in its ability to digest starch. The bottom line is that dogs can and did digest and eat starches, and that they developed enzymes and adapted to a diet that’s quite similar to a balanced human diet. So why are wheat and other grains now causing health problems, not just in dogs but in people too?
UNCOVERING THE REAL CULPRIT Here’s where it gets very interesting. There’s something going on with modern wheat – something that isn’t very well known. Let’s start by exploring the difficulty farmers face when they harvest wheat. The kernels need to be ripened as evenly as possible, and each stalk has many kernels. Normally, a wheat field ripens unevenly. To complicate matters, moisture in the stalks makes the wheat harder to cut with the harvester. To fix the problem, some US farmers generously spray their fields with Roundup about a week before harvest. The glyphosate found in this and similar herbicides allows the kernels to dry out evenly, resulting in an easier harvest with a higher yield. This practice has been in use for the past 20 years, but the percentage of sprayed fields has been going up and up during this period. It is now a fairly common procedure, although not every farm does it. I interviewed a farmer who was also head of his association in Kansas, and he told me he did not know any farmers in his state who did this. However, they routinely spray their fields with Roundup before they plant. The pre-harvest spraying of wheat is not licensed. Peas or lentils sprayed with glyphosate before harvest would not be accepted in the marketplace; but wheat goes through the same procedure and is accepted. Farmers call the process “dessication” when it’s applied to wheat, and maybe this is why it gets by. It’s not legal, but somehow the legalities are overlooked. Certain countries in Europe forbid this pre-harvest spraying, but wheat grown in the US is sent all over the world. In fact, the Food Standards Agency in the UK reports that glyphosate residues regularly show up in bread samples. Of course, the herbicide industry claims their products are totally safe. Yet two researchers, Dr. Stephanie Seneff and Anthony Samsel from MIT, strongly argue in their research (published in the journal Entropy) that glyphosate is not safe and that its consumption is contributing to many diseases. Most non-organic wheat supplies are now contaminated with animal wellness
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