ANIMAL WELLNESS
For a long, healthy life!
5
TOP
Annual nutrition issue
pet food ingredients to AVOID THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF DOGS
SCALY SKIN
COLOSTRUM for your companion
– WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Learn how it can BOOST his health.
HIGH DOSE VITAMIN C THERAPY
Interactive FEEDER TOYS for raw diets
CCL disease – did you know manganese
deficiency may be the culprit? OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 Display until November 16, 2016
$6.95 USA/Canada
VOLUME 18 ISSUE 5
Luna,
How to find the
PERFECT dog walker
the Korean MEAT DOG,
escapes death & finds her forever home. Find out what’s being done to help Koreans see these precious dogs as companions, not cuisine.
AnimalWellnessMagazine.com
BONUS INSIDE!
Contents October/November 2016
62
42
Features
18 INTERACTIVE DOG FEEDERS AND RAW DIETS
Puzzle toys and interactive feeders are a great way to mentally stimulate your dog and encourage her to work for her food. But are they okay to use with raw diets?
22 DOES YOUR DOG OR CAT HAVE SCALY SKIN?
Scaly skin in pets may be nothing much to worry about. But if it’s excessive, it can signal a more serious underlying issue, and should be checked out.
26 HOW TO FIND A DOG WALKER
Before hiring a dog walker, check to make sure she possesses these 12 qualities and attributes.
30 HOW TO KEEP YOUR OLD DOG YOUNG – PART 2
In the second part of this article, we look at the crucial roles played by diet, supplements and exercise.
34 HIGH DOSE VITAMIN C
THERAPY FOR PETS – PART 1
When injected at high doses into an animal, vitamin C offers some amazing healing benefits and can even help treat cancer.
42 REPLACING CRUELTY
WITH COMPASSION
Luna started her life as a meat dog in South Korea, before being rescued and adopted into a loving home. Millions more need saving – find out what’s being done to help them.
Dogs have a rich secret language that is only just being discovered, and research results shine more light on just how incredible our canines are.
54 MANGANESE DEFICIENCY AND CCL DISEASE
90 FERMENTED FOODS – GOOD FOR DOGS!
Contrary to popular belief, most cranial cruciate ligament problems in dogs don’t arise from acute injuries. A lack of manganese in the diet is a major contributor.
58 SERVICE DOGS FOR
AUTISTIC KIDS
Dogs specially trained to work with children on the autism spectrum have been successfully helping youngsters and their families cope with this difficult condition.
62 GEMMOTHERAPY CAN HELP HEAL YOUR PET
This gentle healing system involves the use of plant bud extracts to address health issues and help detoxify your dog or cat.
69 AZMIRA HOLISTIC ANIMAL CARE
Founded by Dr. Lisa Newman, a pioneer in alternative pet care, this company offers a complete line of natural products for dogs and cats.
Bovine colostrum supplementation is showing a lot of promise for health issues in dogs and cats – from respiratory infections to diarrhea to periodontal disease.
These keen-nosed working dogs are experts at stopping contraband foods and plants at the border.
Animal Wellness
84 THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF DOGS
From by-products to soy to rendered fats – here’s what to steer clear of when buying food for your dog or cat.
46 COLOSTRUM CAN
BOOST YOUR PET’S WELLNESS
4
50 TOP PET FOOD INGREDIENTS TO AVOID
76 BEAGLE BRIGADE
From borscht to kefir, fermented foods are packed with nutritional benefits you can share with your dog.
98 CHOOSING HEALTHY TREATS FOR YOUR CAT
High quality cat treats made from natural, domestically-sourced ingredients are nutritious as well as delicious.
100 FOSTERING FELINES
Do you have what it takes to be a cat foster parent?
102 ATCHOUM LE CHAT
Hailing from Quebec, this unique Persian kitty is the only known feline with hypertrichosis, a condition that causes excess hair growth – and it’s made him world famous!
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22
34
Columns
12 52 66 70 80 88 96 105
Yakkity yak To the rescue Passages Rewind Warm & fuzzy Book reviews Tail end Feline Wellness book reviews
98
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
40
Product picks
57
The scoop
74
Animal Wellness resource guide
83
Social media
93
Marketplace
95
Events calendar
95
ClassiďŹ eds October/November 2016
5
Interactive dog feeders & raw diets
– are they compatible? By Fanna Easter, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP, ACDBC
PUZZLE TOYS AND INTERACTIVE FEEDERS ARE A GREAT WAY TO MENTALLY
stimulate
YOUR DOG AND ENCOURAGE HER TO WORK FOR HER FOOD. BUT ARE THEY OKAY TO
Outward Hound's Fun Feeder is an ideal choice for raw feeding.
USE WITH RAW DIETS?
E
xercising your dog’s mind is very important. She needs daily doses of mentally challenging activity to help keep her happy and well-adjusted. Stuffing food into interactive feeders and puzzle toys is a wonderful way to give her brain a workout while she enjoys her daily meals. But what if you feed your dog a raw diet? Aren’t interactive feeders and puzzle toys designed for kibble only? Not necessarily. If your dog eats it, you can stuff it into a toy or feeder! You just need to choose the right product, and know how to fill and clean it properly.
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Animal Wellness
CHOOSING IT When selecting an interactive feeder or puzzle toy for a raw diet, look for something that features holes and crevices you can easily stuff the food into. It’s also very important to pick something that’s going to be easy to clean properly. I recommend products such as Kong rubber toys, Outward Hound puzzle bowls, the Starmark Pickle rubber toy, and Nina Ottosson brain games. Regardless of your dog’s chewing style, she will love these durable toys! Be sure to buy something that can’t completely fit inside your dog’s mouth. If your dog is a power chewer, a natural rubber toy with large cavities made for food is a good choice; they’re tough yet flexible, and able to withstand repeated chewing. Other ideas for interactive raw feeding include stuffing food into hollowed-out marrow bones. Or take a muffin tin, form the raw food into the cups (like pushing piecrust into a pan) and let your dog work it out under your supervision. For quick puzzle solvers, you can change things up by turning the muffin tin upside down and forming the food over the outsides of the cups. Whether you buy a toy or feeder, or create your own, always keep your dog’s safety in mind. You don’t want her to chew off and ingest foreign objects. My own dogs enjoy their food puzzles under the kitchen table while we eat dinner; this keeps them busy yet close enough for us to supervise.
FILLING IT
stimulation
WHY IS MENTAL SO IMPORTANT?
Mental stimulation is extremely important for all living beings; we must use our brains every day while working, solving problems, and watching TV. Our dogs don’t watch TV or go to work every day, so they need another way to exercise their brains. Think about it from your dog’s point of view. Looking at the same four walls all day can get boring really fast. This boredom will manifest as extra energy or a tendency to destroy household items, bark excessively, or even compulsively chew on herself – all unwanted behaviors. Mental stimulation is different from physical exercise. Daily exercise is also very important, of course, but layering it with several mentally-stimulating opportunities is even better. Interactive feeders and puzzle toys are ideal for this because you can use feeding times to provide this mental exercise and engagement.
If you’re giving your dog a frozen raw food diet, simply put it inside the toy or feeder the way you would canned food. If you give your dog freeze-dried raw food, put a few large chunks of fruit, such as pear or apple, into the feeder or toy along with the
October/November 2016
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